128-degree heat | Former employees recall "nightmare" work conditions at JD Vance-backed startup

Former workers at a startup backed by Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance have slammed the company’s working conditions and treatment of its staff.

The ex-employees worked for AppHarvest, an agriculture technology company that was based in Kentucky but went bankrupt in 2023 facing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

Vance was a board member and early investor in the startup, describing it as a “good investment” when talking to Fox Business in 2021.

In July, the businessman-turned-politician described himself as a working-class hero as he announced his vice-presidential candidacy.