Canopy Growth Corp. will lay off 800 workers as part of a transformation plan that will see the company close its flagship Plant 1 in Hershey and consolidate some of its cultivation operations.

The Smiths Falls, Ontario-based cannabis company said Thursday that the layoff will affect 35 percent of its workforce and will take place over the next few months.

The move is intended to help the company reach profitability and enable long-term sustainable growth, said David Klein, chief executive officer of Canopy Growth.

"Canopy must reach profitability to achieve our long-term leadership ambition in the North American cannabis market," he said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

"We are transforming our Canadian business to an asset-light model and significantly reducing the overall size of our organization. These changes are difficult but necessary to drive our business toward profitability and growth."

Canopy also reported Thursday that its net loss totaled $266.7 million or 54 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31. The result compared with a net loss of $115.5 million or 28 cents per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Canopy said the higher loss was driven primarily by changes in non-cash fair value and an increase in asset impairments and restructuring costs.

Net income for what was the third quarter of the company's fiscal year totaled $101.2 million, down from $141.0 million a year earlier.