What you need to know
- Apple has announced that Apple MacArthur Center in Virginia is permanently closing.
- All employees will be offered positions at other stores or in other parts of the company.
- It's unclear exactly when the store will close.
Apple has announced that it will be closing its retail location at the MacArthur Center shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia.
As reported by MacRumors, the store is closing after fourteen years of business, but Apple has not yet announced an exact date for the closure. It has, however, indicated that it will be offering new positions to all employees that will be displaced from the store closure.
As far as customers go, the company is encouraging patrons of the store to visit its location at Apple Lynnhaven Mall and the online Apple Store.
"While we have made the difficult decision to close our store at MacArthur Center, we are pleased to be able to offer all of our team members other jobs within Apple," said Apple in a statement shared with MacRumors. "We look forward to helping customers at Apple Lynnhaven Mall, as well as on Apple.com and our popular Apple Store and Support apps."
As noted in the report, Apple has not given an exact reason for the closure. However, the mall that the store is located in has been increasingly vacated by other retailers due to safety concerns.
Apple's statement does not mention a reason for the store closure, but there have been several safety issues at MacArthur Center, including multiple active shooter situations in recent years. A growing number of retailers have already left the mall, including Nordstrom, Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Fossil, Pottery Barn, and others.
According to someone familiar with the store's closing, Apple is expecting to close its doors in the next 90 days. Many employees are expected to be offered positions at nearby stores as well as work-from-home AppleCare positions.
A person familiar with the matter informed MacRumors that the store will likely be closed in around 90 days, so the location's final day of business will likely be in May. The person said Apple is working quickly to help all employees find new places within the company, and offering relocation packages if necessary. Some employees may be transferred to Apple's Lynnhaven Mall location, or transition to work-at-home AppleCare positions.
Apple MacArthur Center isn't the only Apple Store to be permanently closed during the pandemic. The company also permanently closed Apple Uptown in Minneapolis, Minnesota back in October of 2020 after the store had been temporarily closed for months.
