Apple shuts unionized Towson store, workers face layoffs

Apple shuts – Apple permanently shut its first unionized U.S. store in Towson, Maryland, leaving more than half of its 70 unionized workers without jobs, a union says is retaliation. Apple denies the claim, pointing to the collective bargaining agreement reached in 2024 and

For 70 workers at an Apple Store outside Baltimore, the shock wasn’t just the news—it was the finality. This week, the shop permanently shut its doors, ending the experiment that had made it the first unionized Apple Store in the U.S.

The store closure will leave over half of the store’s 70 unionized workers without a job, according to a report that cited the impact on employees. Apple said it made the decision because of “the departure of several retailers and declining conditions” at the mall where the store was located.

Those layoffs are striking because the store’s organizing drive had already produced a hard-won contract. In 2022, an Apple Store outside Baltimore became the first in the U.S. to unionize. The campaign was driven by worker frustrations over how they were treated during the pandemic.

Two years later, those workers won a collective bargaining agreement that secured specific protections. Among them: a cap on the number of temporary workers Apple could hire. The contract also set out a process by which the union could pursue cases for workers it believed had been unfairly disciplined or dismissed.

Now, the union argues that the promise of those protections didn’t translate into job security when conditions worsened.

Apple did offer workers the chance to find employment at another location. But the company required them to apply for the jobs rather than transferring automatically.

The union representing the workers—the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)—has framed that difference as retaliation. In a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board. the union claimed Apple “discriminated against IAM-represented workers in regards to their terms and conditions of employment in order to discourage them from exercising their rights.”.

Apple denies any retaliation. The company says it is following the collective bargaining agreement the union reached in 2024, including severance terms.

“We strongly disagree with the claims made. and we will continue to abide by the agreement that was negotiated and agreed with the union. ” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Fast Company. The spokesperson added that “Towson employees will be eligible to apply for open roles at Apple in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.” The spokesperson also pointed to the contract’s provision of 12 weeks of severance pay.

Apple used a similar closure rationale in two other cases, shuttering stores housed in malls in Connecticut and California. Neither of those stores was unionized.

A Bloomberg report said the Towson mall was 26% vacant. It also noted that major retailers—like Banana Republic and Crate & Barrel—had closed their doors. and that there have been reports of violent incidents at the mall. Still. the union’s counter is direct: workers at those other stores. it said. were given the option of transferring to another location.

Even with this Towson outcome, one unionized Apple Store remains open in Oklahoma City. Other organizing efforts have not resulted in a union, though workers at a number of other stores have pursued union drives or explored the idea.

In Washington and Annapolis, lawmakers have already pushed the company for answers. After Apple announced the Towson closure. Maryland lawmakers asked Apple to explain the decision and what support it would offer to workers losing their jobs. A few weeks later. 40 members of Congress wrote to Apple urging it to reconsider. calling the move “just the latest move in a union-busting effort.”.

The timing lands in the middle of a broader fight. As retail workers started organizing around 2022, Apple pushed back on those efforts. That push has been accompanied by multiple complaints filed with the NLRB alleging the company violated labor law.

With that backdrop, it’s hard to separate economic explanations from the message employees believe is being sent. It’s not clear whether the store shutdown was driven solely by economic reasons or whether the union’s presence played a role. Either way. the closure carries consequences for workers who had just begun to see union power take concrete form—and it may curb organizing efforts just as they were starting to gain traction.

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