For most marijuana companies in Canada, which legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, profits have proven elusive due to fewer-than-expected retail stores, cheaper rates on the black market and slow overseas growth.
The industry has been further hit by the COVID-19 crisis, which has also upended financial markets, making it harder to get investor dollars.
To survive the challenging times, Aurora has cut its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) workforce by 25% and will lay off 30% of production staff over the next two quarters, it said.
Shares of the company were up 2.7% at C$19.05.
Aurora in February announced the exit of founder and Chief Executive Officer Terry Booth, 500 job cuts and impairment charges as it came under fire for its aggressive global expansion amid uncertain demand.
Other pot producers including Canopy Growth, Tilray Inc, Sundial Growers Inc and Hexo Corp have also cut their workforce, emphasizing a push towards faster profitability as investors grow impatient. [Read More @ The New York Times]
