More layoffs at Aurora Cannabis following Great North deal

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Aurora Cannabis laid off sales staff after choosing Great North Distributors to be its sales representative across the Canadian recreational marijuana retail environment.

Aurora was unable to share the specific number of employees who will be displaced as a result of the deal.

“We have informed the internal sales team of our agreement with Great North Distributors, and in some cases that resulted in immediate impact whereas other employees will remain with the organization for a set time,” an Aurora spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement.

“We thank all members of Aurora’s internal sales team for their valuable contribution to the company and commit to supporting those impacted.”

Aurora said it will maintain an internal sales leadership team.

The layoffs to the sales team come weeks after Aurora cut more than 200 positions and slashed production at its flagship greenhouse in Edmonton, Alberta.

Toronto-based Great North will assume responsibility for Aurora’s sales on Jan. 25.

“The company will leverage Great North’s people resources, sales capability training, operational efficiency and data and analytics,” the spokesperson wrote.

“Aurora remains laser focused on advancing the market position of its family of brands in the fast-moving consumer sales and retail landscape.”

Aurora said Great North is Canada’s first national sales broker for adult-use cannabis.

“We have selected Great North for their outstanding execution across regulated businesses. Combining their executional strength with Aurora’s leading portfolio of brands is a recipe for success,” Aurora CEO Miguel Martin said in a news release.

Aurora trades as ACB on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.