Flowr Corporation is undergoing a restructuring program to reduce its workforce

Flowr Corporation announced a restructuring program aiming to reduce about 25% of its workforce. The Canada-based vertically-integrated cannabis company with operations in Canada, Europe, and Australia, has just laid off several workers in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This move was done through the company’s subsidiary RPK Biopharma, which owns the strategic investment company, Holigen.

Flowr has a license for the production, import and export of medical cannabis, granted by Infarmed, a government agency accountable to the Health Ministry, which evaluates, authorizes, regulates and controls human medicines as well as health products.

This reduction in the number of employees of Flowr Corporation follows a statement made by the company, which announces an overall reduction in employees of 25% in order to “thoroughly review operations to reduce costs”.

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Flowr Corporation strategy to ensure its survival during the COVID-19 crisis

Vinay Tolia, CEO of Flowr Corp., confirmed yesterday, March 24th, that the redundancies will also affect the Portuguese facilities in Sintra and Aljustrel. However, Tolia has not yet specified the number of workers laid off and where.

“Unfortunately, we did resort to some layoffs in our organization yesterday. The changes we announced were part of an ongoing comprehensive review of our operations to reduce costs and accelerate cash flow generation. It was an extremely difficult decision, not taken lightly, and we would like to thank the former and current employees for their tremendous contribution to the company,” he stated.

The company’s strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic effects on the cannabis market, according to a statement issued yesterday, March 24th, is to ensure continuity of production at its main plant in Kelowna, Canada, focusing on the Canadian premium dried flower market for the next six months.

In Portugal, the company is still awaiting final GMP certification in Sintra and expects an outdoor harvest in Aljustrel in the fourth quarter of this year. The delay in obtaining the GMP license can, therefore, justify Flowr now focusing more on the recreational market, where it can more easily sell its production.

Flowr Corporation’s global operations

Sintra is a controlled facility for indoor cultivation, extract processing and packaging of finished products. According to Flowr, the construction of the facility is substantially completed, with 3 of the 6 total cultivation rooms currently in operation.

Obtaining GMP certification is Flowr’s top priority through its business at Holigen and is a critical step in the production and sale of medicines for distribution to any EU country. The company had its final GMP inspection in September 2019, and is still awaiting confirmation of EUDRA-GMP certification.

In Aljustrel, Holigen bet on an outdoor cultivation facility of about two hectares, which was considered a Project of National Interest by the Portuguese Government. This was, in fact, the only cannabis-related project to receive this designation. 

The company expects a gradual increase in production at the facility in Aljustrel to combine capacity with the revenue potential of an expanding European medical cannabis market. Holigen wants to plant more than 3,000 square meters this year, with a harvest planned for the fourth quarter of 2020.

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(Featured image by Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash)

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