A popular Seattle-based cannabis web platform has laid off 15 of its employees.
According to Geekwire, Leafly—operated by Privateer Holdings, the same firm running Tilray, a licensed producer in Nanaimo—cut 13 percent of its force, leaving the company with 100 employees.
In a statement, Leafly said operational changes geared to ‘better serving the growing market’ led to the elimination of certain positions. Leafly is arguably the web’s largest cannabis resource, and serves a number of dispensaries in the Vancouver area. (Operators pay the site a fee to display their product menus and dispensary info while Leafly shares educational resources and displays meant to educate the public on cannabis consumption.)
Privateer Holdings first acquired Leafly in 2011. Currently, about 75 percent of the site’s traffic comes from the United States, with the remainder from other countries. It operates a Canadian version of its website and has recently launched Leafly.de (German), Leafly.es (Spanish), and Fr.Leafly.ca (French).
On November 6, the company announced that it had hired a new CEO: Chris Jeffery was the co-founder of OrderUp, an online food delivery service, before moving to the company in Seattle.
“Building on Leafly’s established position as the world’s leading cannabis information resource, we are expanding our focus on providing consumers the tools they need to discover and purchase cannabis products,” said Jeffery in a statement on the firm’s website.
Despite layoffs, Leafly currently lists seven job openings at its Seattle office.
