A coalition comprising two U.S. Senators and seven Members of Congress dispatched a letter to Tim Cook and John Ternus urging Apple for clarification regarding the anticipated closure of its Towson retail store. Below are the specifics.
## Some context
At the start of last month, Apple revealed plans to shut down three US stores: Apple Towson Town Center in Towson (MD), Apple North County in Escondido (CA), and Apple Trumbull in Trumbull (CT).
The rationale for these three closures was essentially similar: they are situated in struggling malls where other retailers have likewise been departing.
While the closure of the stores in California and Connecticut went mostly unnoticed, the situation concerning the Maryland store is markedly different.
This is because Apple Towson Town Center was the first Apple Store to unionize back in June 2022. Consequently, the decision to close this store has led to a conflict between Apple and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), especially regarding whether employees should be permitted to transfer to other Apple retail sites.
In summary, while Apple asserts that the negotiated union agreement mandates transfers only within 50 miles of the Towson store, with severance provided otherwise, the IAM Union argues that Apple is discriminating against unionized staff by refusing the same transfer options available to employees at the other stores set to close.
This deadlock has now escalated to Maryland’s congressional delegation, which has communicated with Tim Cook and John Ternus pressing Apple for information regarding the Towson store’s closure.
## Maryland delegation intervenes
Yesterday, a group of nine U.S. Senators and Members of Congress sent a letter directed to Apple CEO Tim Cook and the company’s future CEO, current Senior Vice President for Hardware Engineering John Ternus, requesting the company to elaborate on its decision to close the Towson store and what support it will offer to affected employees.
Alongside expressing apprehension about the closure, they seek “a clearer understanding of the rationale behind this decision,” including which relocation options were “meaningfully considered.”
They also pose the following inquiries:
1. What factors influenced the decision to shut this location despite its reported performance, and were alternatives to closure thoroughly assessed?
2. What evaluation did Apple carry out to determine the economic and workforce consequences of closing the Towson location, particularly concerning the nearly 100 employees impacted?
3. What specific plans does Apple intend to implement to assist affected employees, including severance, job placement support, and the possibility of location transfers? Will Apple pledge to provide displaced employees the chance to promptly move to another Apple store location?
Lastly, while acknowledging the “complex business considerations” involved in such decisions, they request Apple to “reconsider whether there are feasible paths forward” that would not only safeguard the jobs directly impacted by the decision but also its larger effect on the local economy.
In the wake of the Maryland delegation’s letter to Apple, the IAM Union released a statement praising the Maryland congressional delegation for supporting working individuals and demanding accountability following Apple’s decision to close its unionized retail store at Towson Town Center in Towson, Md., effective June 20, 2026.