Cannabis Layoffs at Canopy Growth’s Manitoba Tweed Stores
Cannabis Layoffs a Result of Learning New Market, Not Supply and Demand: Canopy – LPC
Canopy Growth Corp. announced cannabis layoffs at its Manitoba Tweed stores. Nine of its 73 employees or about 12 per cent of its staff at three stores were laid off.
Canopy said that the cannabis layoffs were not a reflection of sales or the cannabis supply chain problems, but of learning the ropes in a new industry.
“This is the first time we’ve operated retail stores, so this is just a reflection of us learning a little bit about staffing and how much of the team is required to run the business,” Canopy Vice-President Jordan Sinclair told CBC News (see link below). “Now that we’ve got six months of experience behind us, we understand how much of the team needs to be there on a daily basis to run the store.”
The report does not mention how the company decided which employees would be affected by the cannabis layoffs. None of the staff at sister brand Tokyo Smoke were affected.
The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority (LBCA), which regulates cannabis retailers in Manitoba, said it didn’t have any concerns about the cannabis layoffs.
“We allow the market forces to operate on their own,” said Lisa Hansen, LGCA spokesperson.
Retail Cannabis Industry Looks Strong, Though Margins Are Thin – LPC
Delta9, Tweed’s competitor in Manitoba, agreed that the retail industry was strong despite Tweed’s cannabis layoffs. Delta9 CEO John Arbuthnot said sales have been strong so far.
“If I could open another 10 stores this year, I would certainly do that,” Arbuthnot said. The company has two stores in Winnipeg and one in Brandon. “Generally, the industry consensus seems to be there will be positive movement over the long term.”
There have been similar cannabis layoffs elsewhere in the country. CannabisNB famously laid off 60 workers in January. In that case, CannabisNB didn’t comment on the reasons behind the layoffs decision, which amounted to an average of three staff per store. The government cannabis store was plagued by supply problems at the time.
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