Calypso Enterprises laid off 55 workers at its Erie medical cannabis grow and processing facility, the company confirmed to Erie News Now in a statement Friday. The layoffs, which impact 75 percent of the employees, are effective immediately.
"I'm very disappointed. We had heard things weren't going very well. We had been trying for about the last year to try and help them out with some legislation I had introduced," State Rep. Pat Harkins, a supporter of medical cannabis, told Erie News Now.
Harkins says local growers are suffering because dispensaries are outsourcing their product from elsewhere. "It comes down to an out-of-state group of growers trying to dominate the market, and obviously, we see today they're forcing out our local growers. We've got to do something to help them out in the long run," he said.
The company blamed "a number of precipitating events" which required the reductions. Calypso is among a small number of independent permit holders in the Pennsylvania medical cannabis program, and it has seen significant market pressure as a result, causing it to scale back operations from August 2021, the company said.
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"Local growers are suffering"