Tilray shutting down its cannabis greenhouse near Petrolia

A statement provided by the company said it's making changes "to optimize operational efficiencies" as the two companies combine operations.

"Tilray will concentrate local cultivation and manufacturing in its Leamington and London, Ont., facilities," Tilray said in an email.  "This move will strengthen the overall ability of Tilray to serve its customers, as facilities in other locations, including Leamington, London and Nanaimo, will continue business as usual."

There are about 225 employees at the greenhouse Tilray has operated since 2017 in Enniskillen Township, said Mayor Kevin Marriott, who was contacted by the company after employees were informed about the decision to close the five-hectare site.

"It was definitely a shock," Marriott said. "I knew there was trouble in the cannabis industry but I didn't think it would hit home like that."

When the merger creating the world's largest cannabis company was completed earlier this month, the company said it expected to find $100 million in savings within 18 months.

Tilray took over an existing greenhouse from the Enniskillen Pepper Company when it set up operations in Lambton County, initially saying it was planning to grow cannabis for the medical market and then switching to the recreational market after pot was legalized by the federal government.

In London, Tilray operates a 5,200-square-metre plant that processes pot from the Enniskillen Township greenhouse into edibles, beverages, vapes and other products. The recent merger brought with it two large-scale Aphria greenhouses in Leamington, employing 700 workers.

Marriott said the company hasn't said what will happen with the Enniskillen Township greenhouse when its operations there end.

"The demand for greenhouses is so strong that I would hope there is some type of" use for the site, he said.

"It sounds like the cannabis market is saturated and over supplied," but the site could return to growing vegetables, Marriott said.

"I know Tilray spent millions of dollars," at the site, he said. "A place that high in value - there will be something in there."

Soon after the cannabis-growing operation began at the greenhouse, the township began hearing complaints from neighbours about odour, light pollution and high volumes of traffic.

"Definitely, there will be some neighbours that are glad to see it go," Marriott said.

He said the township was often caught in the middle of provincial and federal rules when issues about the greenhouse came up, but the operation did provide "a lot of jobs" for residents across the region, he said.

"They travelled from a lot of areas to work there."

Tilray - one of Canada's largest marijuana producers even before the merger - has struggled in recent years, posting an annual losses of $321 million and $271 million in 2019 and 2020.

Licensed pot producers across Canada went on building sprees ahead of the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018, a trend that continued in the following months.

But an oversupply of product — combined with a slow rollout of brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially in Ontario, Canada's largest cannabis market — left many companies in dire financial straits, leading to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

Photo: Tilray says its High Park Farms cannabis greenhouse near Petrolia will close by September. PHOTO BY HANDOUT

Source: The Londoner

Source: The Londoner