Marijuana giant Curaleaf will shut down in Oregon and two other states

© Mike Rogoway | The Oregonian/oregonlive.com/TNS Curaleaf’s shop on Northeast Fremont Street in Portland will remain open for now.

Marijuana producer Curaleaf announced Thursday it plans to shutter operations in Oregon, California and Colorado as it seeks to shore up its business with $60 million in cost cuts.

Curaleaf also said it will reduce its workforce by about 4% companywide but didn’t comment on the future of its Oregon workforce. It said it won’t immediately close its Portland storefront on Northeast Fremont Street.

“Moving forward in Oregon, the company will cease operations at its production and cultivation facilities, and Curaleaf’s Oregon retail location will remain open as the company seeks a buyer for these assets,” Curaleaf spokesperson Jordon Rahmil said in an email late Thursday.

Curaleaf, one of the nation’s largest marijuana companies, acquired Portland-based Cura Cannabis in 2020 in an all-stock deal initially valued at nearly $1 billion.

The transaction was only worth about $400 million by the time the deal closed because of declines in Curaleaf’s share price. The stock has continued to fall over the past three years and shares closed Thursday at $3.59, down from a 52-week high of $9.28.

Both Curaleaf and Cura have reckoned with a series of scandals, including mislabeled CBD products that made several people seriously ill in 2021 after a mix-up at Curaleaf’s Portland production facility. Curaleaf settled a series of civil lawsuits associated with the blunder and later agreed to a $130,000 fine and 23-day state suspension.

More recently, Curaleaf has been weathering negative publicity related to its association with a pair of Russian billionaires — Andrey Blokh, a major Curaleaf shareholder, and Roman Abramovich, who Curaleaf recently acknowledged provided funding to help start the business.

Cura Cannabis — also known as Select — emerged from Iris Capital, a notorious Portland real estate scam that diverted funds into the marijuana business. Former Cura CEO Nitin Khanna and Curaleaf Chairman Boris Jordan are currently engaged in acrimonious litigation over the management of a separate CBD business that Khanna ran, and that Jordan invested in.

Curaleaf operated in 21 states before Thursday’s announcement, with 6,000 employees and 147 shops.

The Massachusetts-based company reported $340 million in revenue in its last quarter, down 7% from a year earlier. It reported a $51.5 million quarterly loss.

— Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | 503-294-7699

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