“Unforeseen business circumstances” caused Burger King to shutter 26 locations in the Detroit metropolitan area — but cannabis brand Stiiizy is stepping in to offer new jobs in weed to the 400 workers who lost their livelihoods in the announcement.
Stiiizy representative says they were approached on April 21 by one of his workers about the fast food giant’s mass layoffs. On Tuesday, the company announced its search for the former fast food workers with a social media post.
Stiiizy says it will offer the prospective employees between $16 and $16.50 an hour, as well as health, vision, and dental benefits after six months.
New hires will report to Stiiizy’s production facility in Orion Township, which is located on the northern periphery of the Detroit metropolitan area. The company says it can 200 of the former BK employees to work immediately, and 200 more over the coming months as part of the brand’s plans to expand in Michigan.
“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 Stiiizy’s Michigan managing partner Ryan Jundt in a press statement, the Detroit Free Press reported. “We are ready to put all of these folks to work.”
“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 continued.
When asked by a local news channel what duties the new hires will have, Jundt said, “Well, so they would be rolling blunts,” and filling vape cartridge pots. “So, they would it be going from burgers to blunts and joints!” he continued.
Stiiizy was co-founded in 2017 by Shryne Group’s James Kim. As an Army vet living with the troubling symptoms of PTSD, Kim found that cannabis helped to alleviate some of the stress caused by the health condition, and vowed to make the medicine available to more people.
Stiiizy now has three retail locations and one production facility in Michigan, in addition to businesses in Arizona and Nevada.
This is not the first time that the company has made moves to support and connect with the communities in which it does business. Earlier this year, Stiiizy opened a new location in San Francisco that is co-owned by youth anti-violence activist and founder of United Playaz, Rudy Corpuz, Jr. In a January interview with local publication Hoodline, Corpuz showed off one of the dispensary’s walls that was printed with photos of community activists from the surrounding SoMa neighborhood.
“This whole store is based on restorative justice,” Corpuz said. “If you look on the wall, you’ll see 270 years of prison time on that wall, the guys and girls who came out of that system. But now, we’re making a difference, a positive impact difference for our community, working with the kids.”
The Detroit Free Press article on the potential Burger King hires was intent on getting the news out to these workers, and even offered Stiiizy’s specifications for former hamburger slingers looking to make the career shift to weed.
We’re happy to pass them on in case you are or know one of them: Interested parties should write to mioffice@shrynegroup.com and include their name, e-mail address, phone number, and resume if they have one.
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