Aurora Cannabis Inc. handed out millions in compensation and salary increases to executives as the company was laying off more than 1,000 workers and reporting billions in losses.
The Edmonton-based cannabis company’s management proxy circular released this week ahead of the company’s annual meeting in November shows all six of its named executive officers — a company’s most highly compensated and prominent workers — took home larger salaries or saw a spike in share- or option-based awards and other incentive plans.
For some, the increases for the fiscal year ended June 30 doubled the value of the compensation they received the year prior and tripled what they received a few years ago.
The increases were given as Aurora fell on hard times. The company said this month that it incurred $3.3 billion in losses in its 2020 fiscal year, including $1.86 billion in its latest quarter due to large impairment charges.
