Israeli Cannabis Company BOL Lays Off 20 Employees

Israeli cannabis company Breath of Life International Ltd. (BOL Pharma) has let go 20 of its 180 employees in recent days, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke to Calcalist on condition of anonymity. According to the people, the layoffs were part of a cost cutting process imposed on BOL by its main shareholder, Tel Aviv-listed Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture.

BOL had no choice, one of the people said, adding that the company prepared itself for export with the expectation of becoming an empire. It could be seen it in the prospectus BOL filed, where it listed hundreds of thousands of square meters for farming and the ability to bring to market 850 tonnes a year, more than the current global consumption, the person said. But export from Israel is delayed, and their initial public offering fell through, and it is the shareholders that end up paying for it, the person added.

BOL is aiming to cut down on operational costs and to become profitable as of the next quarter, and it is possible more layoffs will occur, several people familiar with BOL told Calcalist on condition of anonymity. The company intends to go public by the end of the year, they added.

BOL backed out of an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in June, after failing to achieve its target valuations, first $1 billion and then $830 million. The company cited market conditions in both the Canadian and the global cannabis industries as the reason and stated it intends to try again in the fourth quarter of 2019.