Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, restructuring at Canopy Growth Corporation is continuing, with the move to slash 200 jobs in the U.S., the U.K. and, hardest hit, Canada.

The cuts will involve several departments, the Smith’s Falls, Ont.-based cannabis giant confirmed in an email to Bloomberg News: “The latest cuts represent about five per cent of its total workforce of 4,118. The majority of affected employees are in Canada.”

As far as the future is concerned, CEO David Klein says, “For a long time Canopy has prioritized doing things first, but going forward, we’ll be focused on doing things the best in the markets and in the product formats that show the greatest promise.”

That job cuts were coming is likely not a surprise; Klein, who came to Canopy from Constellation Brands Inc., noted in February that reducing the workforce was an option.

The following month, changes were already underway, with the company opting to shutter three million square feet of greenhouse space at two locations in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. Klein justified the move by saying that cannabis represented “a market that has developed slower than anticipated and (offered) challenges in raising capital,” it was reported at the time.

FILE: Staff work in a marijuana grow room at Canopy Growth’s Tweed facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. / Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick / Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Beyond the 500 jobs lost, the company also pulled the plug on another greenhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., as part of an overall effort to “align supply and demand,” according to the National Post.

Earlier this month, Canopy announced it was closing its indoor cannabis growing facility in Yorkton, Sask., exiting its operations in South Africa and Lesotho, shutting down its hemp cultivation operation in New York and stopping its cannabis cultivation in Colombia, reports Yahoo Finance. “The company said it expects to book an impairment charge of between $700 million and $800 million as a result of those changes in its upcoming financial results.”

Canopy Growth has reportedly laid off or eliminated almost 1,000 jobs thus far. / Photo: Getty Images / Photo: Getty Images

Canopy Growth has laid off or eliminated almost 1,000 jobs thus far, including temporary COVID-19 related layoffs, according to MarketWatch.

“Although difficult, the decisions that have been made over the last few months are to allow Canopy Growth to remain focused on the areas where we are winning and ensure that we are delivering the highest quality products to our consumers in every market where we operate,” Klein noted in an emailed statement.

Klein has said that more details about his “new vision” for the company will become available when the company releases its latest quarterly earnings on May 29, according to Yahoo Finance.