Cannabis company cuts 211 jobs in Hillsborough, Polk

An Atlanta cannabis company eliminated 211 jobs in early July after shutting facilities in Lakeland and Wimauma in Hillsborough County. 

The company, Parallel, writes in a letter sent to meet federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requirements that the workers were put on paid administrative leave July 6 and paid through their termination dates.

That date was not given, but in the letter the company says the employees would be laid off July 6 or “during the 14-day period beginning on that date.”

The letter to state officials was dated July 20 and posted on the state’s WARN database July 21.

Parallel did not respond to questions Tuesday about why the facilities closed and if the layoffs were isolated or part of bigger cuts company wide.

The facilities are at 2324 W. Lake Drive in Wimauma and 3516 Hamilton Road in Lakeland. Jobs affected by the cuts range from cultivation technicians to production technicians to extraction and refinement supervisors.

The letter did not give a breakdown of how many employees worked at each facility.

Parallel, according to its website, operates 45 dispensaries in Florida under the Surterra brand. That includes six in the Tampa market and one each in Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bradenton, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.

The company says on its LinkedIn profile that it is “driven by the transformative potential of cannabis to enhance lives.

“From soothing CBD tinctures to invigorating high-THC pre-rolls," the company says. "we champion this plant's capacity for healing, relaxation and responsible enjoyment.”