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Canopy slashes workforce, plans closure of 1 Hershey Drive

Published on February 9, 2023 by David Wylie

The outside of 1 Hershey Drive Photo: Adobe/the oz.
1 Hershey Drive in Smiths Falls is pictured.

Canopy Growth is doing some heavy pruning.

The company announced Thursday it plans to close its 1 Hershey Drive facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., which early on in legalization was compared to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

It also plans to cut 60% of its workforce—about 800 jobs total, 40% of which are impacted immediately.

Canopy says its West Kelowna grow facility, Doja, will continue to operate, as will its facility in Kincardine, Ont.

“We are transforming our Canadian business to an asset-light model and significantly reducing the overall size of our organization. These changes are difficult but necessary to drive our business to profitability and growth,” says Canopy CEO David Klein.

“Canopy must reach profitability to achieve our ambition of long-term North American cannabis market leadership.”

The cannabis corporation made the announcements Thursday in its most recent quarterly results.

The company posted net revenue for its past fiscal quarter of $101 million, down 28% from a year ago, for a net loss of $267 million. While its revenues drop, its operating expenses are increasing.  

Canopy says it will be eliminating 25-50% of its cannabis products from shelves.

Sales of dry-herb vapourizers by Storz & Bickel have also dipped.

Athlete supplement brand BioSteel, which falls under Canopy’s umbrella, appears to be doing relatively well. And its US holding, Acreage, is reporting increasing revenue.