After warning of a possible shutdown for months, an indoor agriculture company operating in Pittsylvania County has canceled the prospect of a mass layoff and now says it will be a “stronger, more stable business.”
Between December and late March, the company, AeroFarms, sent multiple notices to state and local officials under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act, which requires large employers to provide advance notice of major layoffs or plant closures.
The notices originally indicated that AeroFarms would permanently close its Pittsylvania County facility but changed course to say that the company had secured short-term funding to stay open as it sought a buyer for the operation. At least 120 employees’ jobs were at stake as the saga unfolded.
In late March, AeroFarms said that it anticipated the sale of the company would be finalized in April but warned that it would move forward with the shutdown if the deal fell through. In an April 29 letter, Carlos Nunez, AeroFarms’ vice president of human resources, said that the company was rescinding its WARN notice — in other words, canceling its previous notification of a possible mass layoff.
“Thank you for your support as we have navigated during this time of transition,” Nunez wrote in the letter to officials. “We are excited to continue our work making AeroFarms a stronger, more stable business and remain focused on supporting our employees, customers, and community.”
In an email Monday to Cardinal News, Nunez declined to provide details about the latest development but said that AeroFarms will share more at a later date.
“What we can say with confidence is that our farm, our products, and our commitment to our customers, consumers, and community remain as strong as ever,” Nunez said.
AeroFarms produces microgreens such as broccoli and kale at a 140,000-square-foot vertical farming facility in the Cane Creek Centre industrial park. The park is located in Pittsylvania County near the North Carolina border and is jointly owned by the county and the city of Danville.
Danville City Manager Ken Larking said in a statement that he is happy that AeroFarms appears to have found a pathway to continue operating.
“It was certainly good news to hear that they no longer plan to lay off employees,” Larking said. “Hopefully they will maintain a lengthy and strong presence in our community, providing jobs to residents and contributing in other ways to help our region’s prosperity.”
AeroFarms was based in New Jersey when it opened the Pittsylvania County location in 2022. The company underwent Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, closing its New Jersey site and focusing on Southside Virginia. In August 2025, AeroFarms announced that it had refinanced debt to support its Pittsylvania County location.
The initial announcement in December of a possible closure came as AeroFarms said its largest investor had changed its priorities.
Although AeroFarms has now rescinded its WARN notice, it might employ fewer people than it did in December.
At that time, AeroFarms told officials that shutting down the Pittsylvania site would result in the loss of 173 jobs. In March, it said that a shutdown would result in the loss of 133 jobs.
Nunez declined to provide a current employment figure on Monday. The company’s website lists various jobs available for prospective applicants, but it remains unclear how many open positions the company has.
