New York-based multistate cannabis operator Curaleaf Holdings Inc. recently went through another round of layoffs, company officials confirmed this week with Cannabis Business Times.
The largest plant-touching cannabis company in the world by market cap, Curaleaf has roughly 5,500 workers with a footprint that includes 1.8 million square feet of cultivation and 150 retail locations across 18 states, according to its most recent investor presentation from September. The current cultivation capacity represents a major decrease from the 4.2 million square feet listed in a previous presentation from earlier this year.
The company declined to comment on the number of workers impacted by the most recent layoffs, in what state(s) these layoffs occurred, and when specifically the layoffs were effective.
“We can confirm that some positions have been eliminated as a part of a continued effort to identify synergies and further business optimization and integration,” according to a company statement provided by Curaleaf Senior Director of Public Relations Jordon Rahmil. “While it’s never an easy decision to lose team members, this process is a normal course of business as we continue to balance our needs and resources to drive the business forward.”
This news was first reported Oct. 23 by Massachusetts-based journalist Grant Smith Ellis, who also indicated that multiple vice presidents at Curaleaf were part of the corporate layoffs. Curaleaf declined to confirm this with CBT.
These job eliminations come after Curaleaf laid off 49 workers in July at its Winslow cultivation and production facility in southern New Jersey. That move, along with the company shutting down its other cultivation facility in Bellmawr, N.J., just months earlier, were strategic decisions to meet market demand in the state, according to the company.
Also in 2023, Curaleaf announced the closure of its operations in California, Colorado and Oregon. The company indicated that the proactive exit from these more mature markets would allow it to generate additional cash and improve margins in a non-SAFE Banking Act environment.
“We believe these states will represent opportunities in the future, but the current price compression caused by a lack of meaningful enforcement of the illicit market prevent us from generating an acceptable return on our investments,” Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin said in January.
Despite these streamlining efforts, Curaleaf has opened several dispensaries in 2023, including five medical facilities in Florida for a total of 60 in the Sunshine State. In addition, the company completed an acquisition April 10 of Deseret Wellness in Utah, giving Curaleaf three additional stores for a total of four in a state market of 15 dispensaries.
Curaleaf’s most recent workforce reductions come on the eve of the company transiting to a public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Curaleaf will host its next conference call at 5 p.m. Nov. 9, when it plans to report its third quarter financial and operating results.
