Apple to Close Three U.S. Retail Stores, Including Unionized Towson Location
Apple announced the permanent closure of its Trumbull, Connecticut; North County, California; and Towson Town Center, Maryland stores, sparking protests from the unionized workforce at Towson.
Apple confirmed that three of its U.S. retail outlets will shut down permanently on Saturday, June 20. The stores affected are Apple Trumbull in Trumbull, Connecticut, Apple North County in Escondido, California, and Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland.
The company said the closures result from declining conditions at the shopping malls where the stores operate, a decision first disclosed in April. Employees at the Towson location, the first U.S. Apple store to unionize in 2022 under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE), have protested the plan.
"Apple workers in Towson voted to join the IAM, fought for and won a contract, and are now being punished for it," said IAM President Brian Bryant. "Apple signed a collective bargaining agreement that requires equal treatment. It is time for Apple to honor that agreement and do right by these workers before June 20."
Apple stated that the collective bargaining agreement obliges the company to transfer or rehire employees only if a new store opens within 50 miles of the Towson site; otherwise, severance is provided, which the company is delivering. The firm added that it has no immediate plans to open a replacement store, though employees would have a right of first refusal if a new location opens within 18 months of the agreement’s ratification.
Union representatives have criticized the policy, noting that non-unionized staff at the Trumbull and North County stores will be offered transfers, a benefit not extended to the unionized Towson workers. Some Maryland politicians have voiced support for the protesting employees.