Canopy Growth, an Ontario-based cannabis company, announced Thursday that their facility in Yorkton will be closing.
The company is also cutting it’s farming operations in Springfield, New York, as well as its cultivation facility in Colombia. Canopy adds that they also plan on transferring ownership of their facilities in Africa to local businesses.
The announced changes will cost 85 full-time jobs.
Yorkton Mayor Bob Maloney says the lost jobs will affect the local economy.
“Six jobs are involved in this,” said Maloney. “There were plans, at one point in time, to have a huge expansion, but I think economic realities and supply versus demand have dictated otherwise.”
A statement from Canopy says the Yorkton facility closure is part of plan to “further align production in Canada with market conditions”.
The first year of legalization saw people spend $38 million on cannabis products in Saskatchewan, compared to $195 million in Alberta and $56 million in Manitoba.
While Maloney is disappointed with the closure of the facility, he is happy that the employees will be offered employment at a facility in Edmonton.
“It’s certainly good news that people aren’t going to be losing their jobs” said Maloney. “On the downside we’ll have a building that won’t be occupied.”
Canopy Growth is the owner of the Tweed and Tokyo Smoke cannabis retail shops, and the medical marijuana company Spectrum Therapeutics
