Cannabis facility offers jobs to more than 400 laid-off Burger King workers
Local restaurant workers who recently lost their jobs when more than a dozen Burger King locations shuttered may have new job opportunities.
Stiiizy, a California-based cannabis company and lifestyle brand with three retail locations and a production facility in Michigan, has offered jobs to the more than 400 recently laid-off Burger King workers, according to a news release. Retail locations are in Ferndale, Kalamazoo and Portage.
The laid-off employees will be offered jobs at Stiiizy’s production facility in Orion Township. There, the company produces a variety of products, including its pod vape line and infused blunt and joint line, sold in Michigan stores as well as more than 600 independent dispensaries throughout Michigan. Pod vape line and its infused blunt and joint line as well.
“It’s unfortunate that Burger King pulled the rug out from under 430 good men and women, but I want their loss to be Stiiizy’s gain,” said Ryan Jundt, of Stiiizy's Cannabis, in a statement. “We are ready to put all of these folks to work.”
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It was last Friday when a worker approached Jundt about asking if he saw a Detroit News article about the Burger King layoffs and closures.
“I was thinking about all the people we are trying to hire and how difficult it is to hire and wanted to get the word out,” Jundt said.
$16 to start
Workers will be offered between $16-$16.50 per hour to start depending on the shift and eligible for benefits, including health, dental and vision after 90 days, Jundt said.
Jundt, the Michigan managing partner of Stiiizy Cannabis, said the company is looking to hire more than 200 Burger King workers who lost their jobs immediately. Within the next few months, another 200 or more could be hired to help facilitate the company's growth.
"It’s been amazing, our wholesale growth, we growth month over month," Jundt said. "There’s always more demand than we can make that’s why we are trying to scale fast."
Layoffs unexpected
Burger King workers lost their jobs when the Texas-based franchise owner of more than two dozen Burger King locations in metro Detroit announced late last month that they would permanently cease operations and close locations in Michigan. Most of the restaurant closings in Detroit.
That move resulted in more than 400 job losses, including general managers, shift managers, and team members.
EYM King of Michigan, based in Irving, Texas, the franchisee that owns the restaurants, informed the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) on March 22 of the layoffs, stating that the closings are due to “unforeseen business circumstances” and failure to reach an agreement with Burger King Corp., according to a notice sent to Michigan’s labor department.
Interested workers should email mioffice@shrynegroup.com with their name, e-mail address, phone number, and, if possible, attach a resume.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stiizy cannabis offers jobs to 400 laid-off Burger King workers
