AeroFarms, a vertical farming company, announced the closure of its Virginia facility and the termination of all 173 employees, including its CEO and CFO, following an unexpected withdrawal of financial support from its largest investor.

The closure, set to take effect on Friday, December 19, 2025, was disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice submitted to Virginia Works.

The notice, issued by New AeroFarms, Inc. and AeroFarms Danville Farming Company LLC, outlines the decision to wind down operations at the facility located at 1526 Cane Creek Parkway in Ringgold, Virginia. Carlos Nuñez, Vice President of Human Resources, was listed as the point of contact in the filing.

“This letter is to inform you that New AeroFarms, Inc. and AeroFarms Danville Farming Company LLC (collectively, the ‘Companies’) have made the difficult decision to wind down all of their operations and close the facility,” the notice states. The closure will result in the permanent termination of all employees, including those working remotely. Of the 173 employees affected, 127 are Virginia residents.

The companies attribute the closure to their largest investor’s sudden decision to withdraw financial support, citing the investor’s “unannounced restructuring and change in priorities.” The notice explains that AeroFarms had been working to secure alternative funding from other investors and financial institutions but was ultimately unsuccessful.

“Contrary to the Companies’ expectations, the Companies’ largest investor decided to withdraw any further financial investment into AeroFarms Danville Farming Company LLC and New AeroFarms, Inc.,” the notice states. “Since receiving this notice from the investor, the Companies have been diligently attempting to negotiate an extension with the investor or to secure other funding… Unfortunately, the Companies’ efforts to obtain additional capital have failed.”

The closure will result in the termination of all employees, including executive roles such as the CEO and CFO, as well as other positions across all levels of the organization. The notice specifies that there is no union representation among the affected employees. A small number of employees may remain temporarily to assist with winding down operations.

In August 2025, AeroFarms announced it had refinanced its debt to support ongoing operations at its farm in Danville, Virginia, and had raised equity financing to further support existing operations and fund pre-construction activities for its expansion to a second farm.

“Our vision is to provide local food production of nutritious microgreens to regions around the world, while preserving natural resources,” said Molly Montgomery, executive chair and CEO of AeroFarms, in August. “We have recently demonstrated that vertical farming can indeed be sustainable, profitable, and produce fresh greens at scale. I would like to extend my gratitude to our financial partners who believe in our vision and have provided financing to support our operation in Danville and commencement of pre-construction activities for expansion to a second farm.”

As of now, AeroFarms has not issued a public statement beyond the WARN notice, and it remains unclear whether the company will pursue further restructuring or other avenues to resume operations in the future.