Sustainable indoor agriculture company AeroFarms plans to move its commercial growing operations to Virginia so its New Jersey-based facilities can focus exclusively on research and development.

In an April 5 press release, the Newark-headquartered company said it will designate more than 100,000 square feet of space to R&D activities aimed at advancing projects on next-generation crops and indoor vertical farming solutions.

In coming months, AeroFarms expects to transfer New Jersey commercial production to its commercial farm in Danville, Va., which the company says is rapidly expanding to meet consumer demand.

Known for its ready-to-eat, pesticide-free specialty greens, AeroFarms has deals with several major retailers, including Amazon Fresh, Walmart, Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market, as well as multiyear strategic partnerships with entities ranging from government agencies to major Fortune 500 companies to solve agriculture supply chain needs.

“AeroFarms is known for its plant science and R&D expertise, and we are fielding so many opportunities to work on future crops to expand our offerings for customers,” David Rosenberg, co-founder and chief executive officer of AeroFarms, said in a statement.

According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the site stands to lose 82 positions.

“Our Newark commercial farm team has been instrumental in helping establish our leading brand and product offering, and we are deeply appreciative of their contributions. We are very mindful about finding potential new roles within AeroFarms as well as future career placement services for our impacted workforce as we make this transition,” he said.

In recent months, AeroFarms has made efforts to expand into the Middle East as part of a goal to create sustainable opportunities to further next generation agriculture in arid and desert environments.

Besides opening a cutting-edge research and development facility in Abu Dhabi, AeroFarms also signed a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to establish a company to build and operate commercial indoor vertical farms in the country, as well as the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The company also forged a partnership with the Qatar Free Zones Authority and Doha Venture Capital to build a facility that aims to decrease the country’s reliance on imports by making high-quality food products more readily available throughout the year.