Massachusetts-based cannabis cultivation and retail company Insa laid off an undisclosed number of workers in the past few months.
The downsizing was a result of increased competition from “out-of-state” companies in the Massachusetts marijuana market, Insa CEO Peter Gallagher told MassLive.com via email.
“To address these new challenges, we have been focused on implementing important cost-saving measures to align with the new market,” Gallagher said.
“It was through this process that the difficult decision was made to eliminate various positions in the company.”
Insa did not immediately respond to an MJBizDaily request seeking more details about the layoffs.
The company, headquartered in the Springfield suburb of Easthampton, also operates in Florida and Pennsylvania.
An Insa store is scheduled to open soon in Ohio, and the company is licensed in Connecticut.
Cannabis retailers in Massachusetts have sold more than $4 billion in products since the adult-use program launched in 2018.
However, wholesale marijuana prices in the state have plummeted in recent months, dropping by up to 50%, because of oversaturation.
Layoffs have become widespread in the U.S. cannabis industry because of wholesale price compression, high interest rates, inflation and the illicit market.
Jobs in the marijuana industry declined by 2% in 2022, according to a recent report by Denver-based cannabis recruitment platform Vangst. (Full Story)