John Schroyer
New York-based multistate operator Columbia Care (NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) (FSE: 3LP) announced last week that it will lay off 73 workers at one of its Pennsylvania cannabis production facilities, effective Feb. 28, in order to “meet the appropriate supply and demand levels of the market.”
According to the Bedford Gazette, the facility in question is run by Green Leaf Medical LLC, a subsidiary of Columbia Care, in Saxton, Pennsylvania.
“(Layoffs are) never an easy decision to make as an operator, and we are grateful to all our employees who have been instrumental in bringing the medical cannabis program online and providing our patients with the best quality product,” the company said in a statement to the Gazette. “We are hopeful that with adult use on the horizon, this facility will be back up to full capacity in the future.”
The Saxton mayor said he was forwarded a notice by the state Department of Labor & Industry filed by Columbia Care regarding a permanent “mass layoff,” and the department posted a notice online clarifying that 73 staffers were to be let go.
Green Leaf was acquired by Columbia Care in 2021 for approximately $240 million, and Columbia Care itself is set to be acquired by Illinois-based Cresco Labs this year for about $2 billion. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.
