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."
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