Multiple employees at alt meat co Meati have been laid off today, AgFunderNews has learned.
Colorado-based Meati, which got into financial difficulties earlier this year, was acquired over the summer by Meati Holdings, a company set up by InvenTel CEO Yasir Abdul.
Abdul has not responded to interview requests since the takeover but was understood to be trying to secure additional financing for the company, which makes mycelium-based steaks and cutlets via biomass fermentation.
According to one employee who spoke with us today (Nov 4), “The entire fermentation team has been laid off as well as food production and only some managers and maintenance people will remain. Still zero communication from Yasir.”
Asked what explanation was given, the employee said: “They want to reduce headcount while they figure out finances.”
A second employee was told that because of “financial issues” at the company, “that today will be my last day.” A letter sent to affected staff said that “This action is the result of financial holds on company accounts and the need to stabilize operations.”
A third told us: “People did not get any notice. They walked in, just to be told to leave without any explanation. They were told to wait for a phone call later today.”
The company has not responded to requests for comment, but one source told us: “I’m hearing only five people left.”
‘It’s an absolute mess’
The layoffs follow weeks of payroll glitches at the firm, prompting several staff to refuse to come into work until they were paid.
According to multiple employees we spoke to, the payroll issues began on September 26 when pay checks usually administered via ADP every two weeks did not materialize. The money was then wired several days later. The same thing then happened again on October 10 and October 24, with paychecks delayed, but landing in bank accounts a few days later.
“Originally the excuse was that someone in our parent company ‘missed an important payroll email when we migrated services [from Microsoft] to Gmail [Google], but it’s been a different excuse every week,” said one employee. “The latest explanation is that cash is getting swept whenever it’s posting to company accounts due to an ongoing lawsuit.”
Another employee added: “It’s an absolute mess. Some people feel like they are being held hostage. We’ve been reassured we still have healthcare, but he [Yasir Abdul] has said absolutely nothing [directly] to staff since July.”
AgFunderNews has not been able to find records of new litigation vs Meati beyond a Mechanic’s lien foreclosure (25-cv-31479) on the Thornton factory filed in September by Process Piping of Colorado. This was filed vs Emergy Inc (dba Meati Foods, the tenant); Canadian Imperial BK Commerce Inc (the lender) and 25 North Investors SPE1 LLC (the landlord) regarding $117,048 in unpaid work.
Rollercoaster ride
Meati—which makes mycelium-based whole cuts via submerged fermentation—has been on a rollercoaster ride this year.
According to our sources, staff had been more optimistic about the company’s future at the beginning of the year despite several rounds of layoffs given distribution gains, a new product, and revenue growth in key retail accounts.
One told us: “Morale under [previous CEO] Phil [Graves] before March had gotten significantly better, probably the highest it’s been in years. We were coming out with new products, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We felt like we had really open management.”
However things started to go downhill in late February when Meati breached a financial covenant tied to revenue and gross profit, what’s known in banking as a technical default, and lender Trinity Capital swept two-thirds of its available cash.
It was then forced to issue a WARN notice to staff in March explaining that production would cease on May 6 unless it could secure additional funds.
On May 2, Emergy Inc (doing business as Meati Foods) filed an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) agreement with the Adams County District Court (case 2025-CV-030671). The ABC process serves as an alternative to bankruptcy, whereby a financially distressed company transfers its assets to a third-party (in this case an attorney called Aaron Garber) who handles the sale of the assets/business in the best interests of creditors.
During that process, Yasir Abdul acquired the company for a reported $4 million, although we were told by alt protein investor Ryan Bethencourt in June (who was assisting with the transition) that this figure was “not accurate.”
Abdul has not provided any further details, although an article published in BusinessDen in July references a May court filing which said that Abdul was assuming the company’s “existing tax liens and all obligations to Trinity Capital.”
‘There are people in the office but we are not producing anything’
While the business remained operational as Meati navigated the ABC process, many key staff left amid the ongoing uncertainty. However, some new employees were hired in July and August, which suggested that things might return to a more even keel, said one employee.
“At first, everything seemed to be going fine. He [Abdul, who is based on the east coast] came to the plant a few times, presented himself pretty nicely and said he wanted to get to know the product and who worked here. But come September, he just kind of felt very removed.”
Asked about Abdul’s plans for the business, which was supplying several thousand stores earlier this year, another employee added: “Yasir was really pushing the direct to consumer business, which is relatively new. He also wanted to do a ground product, which is not 100% mycelium, but includes some soy.”
Founded in 2015 by engineers Dr. Justin Whiteley and Dr. Tyler Huggins, Meati has sought to differentiate itself in the meat alternatives market with a fungi-based submerged biomass fermentation platform capable of producing whole cuts of alternative meat from mycelium.
A high-profile player in the space with over $375 million in funding from backers including Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Prelude Ventures, Meati had secured listings in more than 7,000 stores including Kroger, Whole Foods Market, Meijer, Sprouts and Wegmans.
Further reading:
Infomercial exec Yasir Abdul emerges as prospective buyer for Meati as firm navigates ABC process
Breaking: Meati plans “gut-wrenching” mass layoffs amid “bank-induced crisis”
Meati expands distribution, anticipates positive gross margins by the year end, says CEO
