Leafly Cuts 91 Jobs Citing Financial Restraints Related to Coronavirus

Cannabis media company Leafly has laid off 91 employees nearly two months after the company cut about 18 percent of its workforce, GeekWire reports. CEO Tim Leslie attributed the layoffs to economic effects from the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re heartbroken to have to let so many talented people go in such an uncertain time. Although Leafly continues to grow and rapidly deploy pickup and delivery services for retailers and brands across North America, COVID-19 has rocked global financial markets and put further capital investments we were expecting on pause.” – Leslie in a statement to GeekWire

According to the report, the affected employees were offered one week of severance pay. Leslie indicated the move would allow the firm to be “financially self-sufficient” during the pandemic, which has forced several states to issue broad stay-at-home orders and tanked the stock market.

At its peak, Leafly had employed about 300, but these layoffs, along with the January cuts, have cut that number to about 140. Last year, the company had hired 150 new employees but Leslie, a former Amazon Prime Video executive, said last March that the firm would be slowing its hiring and spending.

Leafly is far from the only Seattle, Washington-based company to lay off employees amid the outbreak – which caused the state to issue a shutdown order last week. The Pacific Science Center laid off more than 300 people last week. Some businesses, such as co-working startup The Riveter and clothing rental service Armoire, are invoking a state law that lets companies use “standby” – or temporary layoffs – which allows employees to collect unemployment benefits but can still return to work.

Washington has 2,221 confirmed coronavirus cases which have led to 110 deaths in the state, according to state Department of Health data. The state was the first to report a case.