Apple has announced the impending closure of a store in Atlantic City, N.J. without plans to open a new one in the surrounding vicinity.
Apple confirmed the closure of the Pier location in a statement to AppleInsider. The company first launched the shop in 2006, taking advantage of The Pier's connection to the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino.
The company has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraning Notifcation with the state, covering the 52 people impacted by the decision, Bloomberg noted. In another statement Apple blamed the situation on a "sharp decline in tourism and visitors to the area," saying it will shut down the store once its lease expires, without giving a specific date.
"We are offering all of the store's employees other jobs within Apple, and we look forward to serving our Greater Atlantic City customers through our other southern New Jersey, Delaware Valley, and Greater Philadelphia area stores," the company added.
As one of the world's biggest corporations with billions in profits every quarter, Apple has rarely felt a need to shutter outlets. In fact the closure of a Simi Valley store in Sept. 2017 was considered a rare event, especially since the company was on the verge of shipping the iPhone 8, iPhone X, Apple TV 4K, and Apple Watch Series 3.