PharmaCann to close Hamptonburgh site, laying off 130 workers
PharmaCann’s Hamptonburgh shutdown puts 130 Orange County jobs on the line and tests whether legal cannabis can still deliver the stable local growth it once promised.
PharmaCann has disclosed plans to permanently close its Hamptonburgh cannabis operation, putting 130 Orange County jobs at risk and underscoring how quickly a once-promising legal marijuana industry can contract. The company’s New York WARN notice says the facility is set to shut down June 20, and the filing was posted April 17.
For workers, the timing matters. New York State’s Department of Labor uses WARN notices to give affected employees, their representatives and state officials advance warning before a closure or mass layoff. The department also says its Rapid Response team can provide outreach and layoff-aversion services when a shutdown is announced. In practical terms, that gives Hamptonburgh workers a narrow window to line up new employment, review benefits and prepare for the hit to household income before the doors close.
The shutdown lands hard in Orange County because PharmaCann has been one of the larger employers tied to the region’s cannabis footprint. The company describes itself as one of the country’s largest vertically integrated cannabis companies, with cultivation and manufacturing operations in multiple states. Its decision to pull back from Hamptonburgh points to a larger question facing the county: whether cannabis production can remain a dependable industrial employer here, or whether the market will continue to shed jobs as companies reassess their footprints.
The local site had also drawn significant investment. A separate industry and real-estate report said Innovative Industrial Properties amended its lease with PharmaCann in Hamptonburgh and made $45 million available for development of a new 98,000-square-foot industrial building and production-capacity improvements. That scale makes the closure more than a routine staffing cut; it suggests a major piece of the local cannabis supply chain is being unwound.
PharmaCann’s move is not isolated. Public layoff-tracking records show the company has filed additional WARN notices in other states, including a Pennsylvania closure affecting 60 workers. A 2023 report had already flagged layoffs in New York’s medical cannabis sector, with PharmaCann among the companies under pressure, a reminder that the state’s cannabis labor market has been volatile for years.
For Orange County, the Hamptonburgh closure is a reality check. Legal cannabis was supposed to bring durable jobs, industrial investment and a new manufacturing base. Instead, one of the region’s most visible operators is shrinking, and 130 workers are left to absorb the consequences.
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