Home » Employment News » Cannabis industry software maker Akerna to restructure – which means job losses

Cannabis industry software maker Akerna to restructure – which means job losses

By Nagasunder in Employment News, posted May 30, 2022

Software firm Akerna Corp - which works with some of the world's biggest legal cannabis suppliers - has revealed a plan to "create value for its stakeholders", which means shedding staff and reducing costs.

Akerna is a prominent enterprise software firm and the creator of one of the most complete technology infrastructures, ecosystems, and compliance engines in the world.

It announced it is adopting a plan to reduce its personnel and operating costs in order to better focus its resources, accelerate its path to profitability, and create value for its stakeholders.

Jessica Billingsley Akerna’s Chief Executive Officer said: “Our sales performance in 2022 has thus far met our expectations.

"We believe we are showing signs of progress with revenue now at a run rate of $27m at last filing”

Billingsley said: “While we believe we can continue to grow revenue and continue to reduce expenses over time, we have made the decision to focus our initiatives on our enterprise business and new market expansion of our SMB business, at least until the market conditions and the regulatory environment are in more favorable territory.

“We can see a path to positive cash flows and profitability, and the board and the management team are committed to getting there on an accelerated timetable.

"While we continue to deal with liquidity concerns, our headcount reduction and additional cost savings measures represent a material annual cost savings. “

In the second quarter of 2022, the firm expects to report $690,000 in total costs to implement the reduction in force, including $630,000 in severance and associated payroll taxes, $40,000 in legal costs, and $20,000 in employee insurance benefits.

If the reduction in force had not been enacted, $440,000 in salary, payroll taxes, and benefits expenditures would have been reported in the second quarter.

Akerna is an enterprise SaaS company focused on compliantly serving the cannabis, hemp, and CBD industry.

Akerna allows businesses, governments, patients, and consumers to make informed decisions by using connected data and information to move the cannabis sector forward.

The Company's cornerstone technology, MJ Platform, is one of the world's top cannabis infrastructures as a service platform, enabling retailers, manufacturers, brands, distributors, and cultivators to operate more efficiently.

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Akerna also provides a full range of professional consulting services and data analytics to businesses, including solo sciences, Leaf Data Systems, Trellis, Ample Organics, Viridian Sciences, and 365 Cannabis.