AeroFarms secures funding, delays Ringgold facility closure

AeroFarms, an indoor vertical farming company based in Ringgold, announced Friday that it will continue operating and supplying its microgreens to shoppers.

The news came as a surprise since a little more than a week ago, Carlos Nunez, AeroFarms’ vice president of human resources, informed the state that the company planned to close its facility at Cane Creek Centre — a joint industrial park for the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County — this Friday and that 173 employees would be out of work just before the holiday season.

“Since that time, the company’s circumstances have evolved rapidly,” AeroFarms said in a news release Friday. “An existing stakeholder has agreed to provide funding to AeroFarms, enabling the company to continue operations and explore strategic alternatives.”

The status of the 173 employees mentioned in Nunez’s Dec. 11 letter to the state was not addressed in Friday’s news release.  A request for comment about the employees was not immediately returned by an AeroFarms spokesperson.

However, Nunez sent an update to the state dated Friday, suggesting the bulk of employees may get, at least, a brief reprieve.

In the notice, Nunez wrote that entities connected to AeroFarms have “secured short-term funding to continue core operations at the facility.”

“The companies are pursuing strategic options,” Nunez wrote. “Given the short-term funding they received, they have notified the remaining employees that any facility closure would now occur between [Jan. 2 and Jan. 16, 2026].”

The newer state notification reports that 18 mostly remote employees, including seven Virginians, will be temporarily furloughed, beginning Friday. These positions are primarily leadership roles such as the director of engineering and vice president of technology development.

In its earlier notification, AeroFarms stated 173 employees, including 127 who live in Virginia, would lose their jobs when the Ringgold facility closed. In Friday’s letter, Nunez stated that if the facility closes, it would result in the permanent termination of 135 remaining employees. Of those, 102 are Virginians, according to the notice. These positions at risk run the gamut, ranging from AeroFarms’ CEO and chief financial officer to technician and operator jobs.

In a Dec. 11 notice, Nunez said AeroFarms’ largest investor unexpectedly withdrew further financial support. The company attempted to secure alternative funding, efforts that initially failed.

At about noon Friday, Ken Larking, Danville’s city manager, said he had not heard from representatives of AeroFarms. “We’re a little bit in the dark right now,” Larking said.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Larking reported he’d seen AeroFarms’ notice to the state about keeping the facility open until January. “I don’t know if that means that they’re still trying to find investors or not,” he said.

Matt Rowe, economic development director for Pittsylvania County, learned that AeroFarms had put together funding to keep microgreens in stores temporarily through the local news.

“It is certainly positive that an existing investment group has stepped up to fund the company’s operations thought the holidays,” Rowe said in a statement. “However, it is still disappointing that there is a real possibility of the company ceasing to exist by the end of January. I’m hopeful that the company can secure additional funding commitments to continue operations.”

Repeatedly during the interview, Rowe returned the conversation to the AeroFarms employees who thought they would lose their jobs right before the holidays and who now may be out of work by January.

“This is our community,” he said. “These are real lives that are impacted.”

Chapter 11

In April 2023, AeroFarms transferred its New Jersey commercial production to its commercial farm at Cane Creek Centre. A few months later, AeroFarms filed for voluntary protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; however, the company pledged to keep up its efforts in Southern Virginia.

On Aug. 7, AeroFarms announced it had refinanced its debt to support ongoing operations at its Cane Creek Centre farm and had raised equity financing to support existing operations and fund pre-construction activities for its expansion to a second farm.

Equity was provided by existing investors including Grosvenor Food & AgTech, a London-based investor in food and agriculture companies; Ingka Investments, a Netherlands-based investor; and Cibus Capital, a London-based investment adviser in sustainable food and agriculture, according to the August news release.

Siguler Guff, a New York-based private markets investment firm, provided AeroFarms with an asset-based loan to pay off previous debt facility from Horizon Technology Finance, a Connecticut-based venture lending platform, according to the news release.

In Friday’s press release, AeroFarms expressed gratitude to its stakeholders, employees and others for their support and said, “The company is committed to its mission of growing and distributing flavorful, nutrient-dense greens while supporting a resilient and sustainable food system.”

In 2019, then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced that AeroFarms would invest $42 million to build a vertical farm in Cane Creek Centre. The company celebrated the opening of their new 138,670-square-foot facility with a ribbon-cutting in 2022.

As an economic incentive from the state, AeroFarms received a $200,000 Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund grant in 2019, according to Rob Damschen, director of communications for the Office of the Governor.

AeroFarms was set to receive an additional incentive in 2022, but that one was not distributed because the company didn’t meet metrics like capital investments or job creation, according to Damschen.