Seattle-based cannabis information resource company, Leafly, today laid off 54 employees, which is nearly 20% of its workforce, GeekWire has reported. There were 33 people let go from the company’s Seattle headquarters.
However, as a good indicator of the strength and future of the Arizona marketplace, Leafly made no changes to its presence in our state, ACN has confirmed. Leafly has developed a strong presence in Arizona over the last few years, surpassing all competitors as the most important platform for both industry and consumers. This is welcome news for Arizona consumers and industry alike as Arizona is a battleground state for legalization in 2020.
According to a statement from CEO Tim Leslie, Leafly cut roles,
“to more closely align our business operations with the market realities of the technology and cannabis sectors in which we operate,”
The CEO told employees late last year that Leafly was implementing a company-wide effort to limit spending and slow down hiring. Leslie indicated the moves were necessary to integrate the 150 new employees who came on board in 2019 — doubling the size of the company in the process.
Leafly was founded in 2010 by Cy Scott, Brian Wansolich and Scott Vickers. They all left after the acquisition to launch another Seattle-area marijuana company, Headset.
Here’s the full statement from Leslie:
“Today, we eliminated the roles of 54 talented people to more closely align our business operations with the market realities of the technology and cannabis sectors in which we operate. These individuals have invested their time and passion into helping others learn more about cannabis, and enabling retailers, doctors, and brands to connect with them. We are so grateful for each of them and their work. We enter 2020 coming off of a banner year of innovation. In 2019, we launched the Leafly Cannabis Guide to help people learn more about cannabis strains. Our editorial team continued to deliver exceptional reporting, most notably leading coverage of EVALI. We launched new tools and services for retailers and brands and expanded our Leafly Pickup service. And we started Leafly Market so our customers can get a curated selection of hemp-derived CBD delivered straight to their door. In 2020, you can expect to deliver even more innovation in helping people learn about, find and buy cannabis, while empowering the businesses of retailers, doctors and brands. Today is a hard day at Leafly. We wish our colleagues the best as they pursue the next steps in their careers. We look ahead to continued innovation in service of our customers and the cannabis industry.”
source: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/leafly-slashes-18-workforce-align-business-market-realities-tech-cannabis-industry/amp/