Major Michigan marijuana retailer shutters four stores

Michigan marijuana retail giant Lume Cannabis Co., which operates nearly 30 stores with 1,000 employees across the state, abruptly closed four retail locations Monday, July 11.

Lume, in a statement released through its East Lansing-based public relations firm, Byrum & Fisk, said the closures will allow the company to be ” better aligned for future growth.”

The closed stores include: Bay City, Christmas, Cheboygan and Southfield. The locations, as of Monday, July 11, were no longerlisted on the Lume website and pages that were formally designated for the stores now lead to error pages. Lume lists 29 other actively open stores.

“Thank you for calling Lume Cannabis Company, cannabis in a new light,” said the voice recording played when phone numbers for each of the shuttered locations were dialed. “We are currently closed.”

A former employee of one store said staff were notified on Monday that they had been laid off due to the store closure. The employee asked their name not be used in this story due to concerns over future employment and the possibility of violating a confidentiality clause in their employment agreement. The employee said management stated a lack of revenue was the reason for their store’s closure.

“Employees who work at the discontinued Lume stores will be provided with severance pay and they will have the opportunity to apply for positions at other Lume stores in Michigan,” the company said. [Read More @ MLive]