Curaleaf Cuts Staff Amid Cannabis Industry Downturn

The cannabis giant Curaleaf laid off approximately 220 employees last week heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, Insider reports. Curaleaf, which employs more than 6,000 people, is a vertically integrated multistate operator that grows and sells cannabis through its own storefronts in 21 states including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Illinois.

A Curaleaf representative told Insider the cuts were “part of an effort to control costs and drive efficiencies in the face of economic uncertainties ahead” but declined to specify which company departments were the most heavily affected.

“I don’t like having to deliver this news, and we haven’t reached this decision easily,” CEO Matt Darin said in a company-wide email.

“The cannabis industry has grown fast and is constantly evolving. In the current environment with inflationary pressures, increased competition, and slowing growth, it’s incumbent on us to be more efficient.” — Excerpt from Darin’s email announcing the layoffs

The company is now in discussions with unionized employees at affected locations, Darin said in the Insider report.

Curaleaf’s latest layoffs come after 50 jobs were cut and a company facility in Sacramento, California was shuttered in October. Other cannabis industry giants have likewise experienced job cuts this year amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty from years of pandemic restrictions and Russia’s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, including major cannabis tech companies like Eaze, Dutchie, and Weedmaps (which laid off 10% of its workforce in August amid a California sales slowdown).