Dutchie, the Bend-based cannabis software startup that raised $350 million last October, said it laid off 8% of its workforce in a restructuring.
Dutchie recently reported 718 total employees in a Business Journal survey of the region’s largest cannabis and hemp businesses, with 129 in Oregon, suggesting the cuts could number around 60.
In a statement, CEO Ross Lipson attributed the layoffs to “the dramatic market shift over the last few months.”
“Market shift” was apparently a reference to the larger economy, as Lipson added that “the cannabis industry is still growing at a rapid pace,” which “positioned (Dutchie) to be resilient in the case of a broader recession.”
Tech layoffs accelerating
Job cuts appear to be rolling through tech startups.
Layoffs.fyi counted 17,000 layoffs by 71 companies globally in May, a 350% increase from April and the most since May 2020, Quartz reported.
Many tech companies grew during the pandemic, including Dutchie. In January, it told the Business Journal it doubled employment in 2021 and was working on hiring 300 additional workers.
How Dutchie grew
Cannabis legalization in a growing number of states set the stage for the company’s growth, and venture capital provided the fuel. The Series D round last fall pushed Dutchie’s total funding to more than $600 million and valued the company at $3.75 billion.
Dutchie began in 2017, initially providing an e-commerce platform for dispensaries. Through acquisitions it added point-of-sale applications. Lipson said last fall that Dutchie was used by 5,000 stores across North America and had “processed over $14 billion in annualized transactions,” a measure of consumer purchases in a shorter time frame projected over a year.
Here’s CEO Lipson’s full statement on the layoffs:
“Like many other companies watching the dramatic market shift over the last few months, we took time as a team to carefully think through our business plans to ensure we are set up to fulfill our mission. Fortunately, the cannabis industry is still growing at a rapid pace and is positioned well to be resilient in the case of a broader recession.
“Last week, we gathered our entire team together to communicate an important and difficult decision to restructure a few areas of the business. This decision impacts approximately 8% of the company’s overall workforce. We are forever grateful for everyone’s contributions to Dutchie and the cannabis industry that were impacted.
“Dutchie is in a strong position and we are focused on continued growth. We will continue to hire top talent and pursue growth opportunities that map to our business objectives in order to advance our mission to provide safe and easy access to cannabis while helping to drive the cannabis industry forward.”
