Canadian marijuana producer WeedMD is closing a facility in Bowmanville, Ontario, in order to centralize medical cannabis distribution at its site in Aylmer, Ontario.
WeedMD spokeswoman Marianella delaBarrera wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily that “all our Bowmanville employees were invited to apply for open positions at our other sites – for which we offered relocation packages where applicable,”
“Unfortunately, with our London, (Ontario)-area facilities located over 250 kilometers (265 miles) west of Bowmanville, the majority opted for severance packages as they did not wish to relocate.”
The 14,850-square-foot Bowmanville facility was used for “product research, processing and fulfillment,” according to a regulatory filing.
In addition to WeedMD’s remaining Aylmer facility, “which specializes in cannabis extraction and processing,” the company operates a greenhouse and outdoor cultivation facility in Strathroy, Ontario.
The company characterized the closure as part of a plan “to maximize the utilization of its facilities, improve operational efficiencies and further align its cost structure while focusing on growth, following the successful integration of WeedMD and Starseed Holdings Inc.”
The company acquired the Bowmanville facility as part of its late-2019 acquisition of Starseed.
The facility closure comes days after WeedMD installed Executive Chair George Scorsis as interim CEO.
“Following an internal assessment of our entire organization, we took the decisive action to close our Bowmanville operations in order to optimize our production, reduce costs and accelerate our profitability goals,” Scorsis said in Thursday release.
WeedMD shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange as WMD.
