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April
9 (Reuters) - Apple said on Thursday that it will shut down its retail store in Towson, Maryland, the first of its U.S. locations where retail employees successfully unionized in 2022.
* The iPhone maker described the decision as "difficult",citing the departure of several retailers and worseningconditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for theclosure. * Apple said Towson employees will be eligible to apply foropen roles at the company. * In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted tojoin the International Association of Machinists & AerospaceWorkers (IAM) union, marking a milestone for unionization atmajor U.S. corporations such as Amazon.com and Starbucks. * Around the same time, a similar union drive in Atlanta waswithdrawn, with Apple workers alleging intimidation. * The IAM Union said on Thursday that it is "outraged" byApple's decision to close the store, and that it was exploringall legal options. * "Apple's claim that the collective bargaining agreementprevents relocation is simply false and raises serious concernsthat this closure is a cynical attempt to bust the union," theunion said. * Apple also plans to shutter stores at Trumbull Mall inConnecticut and the North County Mall in California, withemployees continuing their roles at nearby Apple Retail stores.(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo, Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
