80 Acres Farms to Lay Off 73 Employees

Ohio-based vertical farming startup 80 Acres Farms will close its Anderson County facility and lay off 73 employees, according to a WARN notice and company statements. The facility at 2665 US-29 N. is scheduled to close by Aug. 17 after a prospective acquirer withdrew from a pending transaction and the company could not secure additional funding. CEO and co-founder Mike Zelkind said the startup exhausted efforts to find a way forward and is winding down operations despite a decade of scaling indoor farms. The notice formalizes the planned workforce reduction, and the company expressed gratitude to employees, partners and communities while noting its belief in the industry's future.

80 Acres Farms cut 73 jobs in OH as of August 17, 2026.

That is roughly 36.5% of the 200 people 80 Acres Farms employs.

LayoffTalk has tracked 8 layoff events at 80 Acres Farms since July 2026, including 246 jobs documented in official WARN filings, with 6 additional events known from news reporting.