Apple premium retailer Simply Mac has reportedly told its employees that it plans to immediately cease operations and lay off all of its employees as the company prepares to file for bankruptcy.

MacRumors’ Joe Rossignol reports:

In a letter to employees today, obtained by MacRumors from multiple sources, Simply Mac CEO Rein Voigt said the company is closing operations and laying off all employees effective immediately in anticipation of the chapter filing for bankruptcy. 7 in the United States, which will result in complete liquidation of the company.

Simply Mac was acquired from GameStop in 2019, and Voigt told employees that the company had “worked hard as a team to make our company the premier Apple partner in North America and to provide our customers with transformational experiences that drive long-term loyalty,” she said, however, she could never have predicted the pandemic that forced her to lay off half of her workforce and close many stores.

Voigt reportedly went on to say that Simply Mac’s financial performance had “never met our expectations” and that it had no funding to stock its stores with inventory or meet its financial obligations.

Unfortunately for the staff, this includes paying its employees, who have been told to await notices from the bankruptcy court where they will have to submit a claim for back pay.

As the report notes, the company had 53 stores nationwide as of January 2022, often in locations without Apple stores. That means customers who depend on those bricks and mortars may have to travel farther afield for tech support and the opportunity to buy devices like Apple’s best iPhone, the iPhone 13. Not to mention the impact this will have on its displaced employees in the immediate and longer term. -term.