Key Takeaways
- Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol announced new store closures for locations across North America, as well as company layoffs.
- The CEO also announced plans for existing store renovations and new resources for reducing customer wait times.
It’s been a year of change at Starbucks, from disappearing menu items to returning menu items to more disappearing menu items to more returning menu items. It’s also been a year of innovation for the Seattle-based coffee chain, from new cold foam creations to new exclusive orders in the Starbucks app and new first-of-their-kind drinks.
But the siren-clad coffee house has also rolled out significant changes to its business model this year, from rewards program adjustments to price hikes to new store policies to major store closures.
And now, more changes are coming that will impact North American Starbucks locations.
Starbucks To Close More North American Stores
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On Sept. 25, in a public letter addressed to Starbucks partners (aka employees), Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol announced two major decisions that will impact the Starbucks North American portfolio: more store closures and more layoffs.
Niccol did not specify how many stores will close, but the letter did state that Starbucks will end the current fiscal year with “nearly 18,300 total Starbucks locations—company operated and licensed—across the U.S. and Canada.”
“Since we’ve already opened numerous coffeehouses over the past year, our overall company-operated count in North America will decline by about one percent in fiscal year 2025 after accounting for both openings and closures,” Niccol explained.
Partners at the closing stores will be notified this week, as well as 900 non-retail positions that will also be cut. These changes are all part of the company’s ongoing “Back to Starbucks” restructuring campaign, and in the letter, Niccol addressed both new investments and these cuts.
“Over the next 12 months, we also plan to uplift more than 1,000 locations to introduce greater texture, warmth, and layered design,” the CEO explained. Niccol also hinted that stores remaining open could see more staff come through during the busy holiday season in an attempt to curb wait times for customers at the register or drive-thru.
“We’re investing in green apron partner hours, more partners in stores, exceptional customer service, elevated coffeehouse designs, and innovation to create the future,” the letter states. Niccol goes on to say that, “Where we’ve invested in more green apron partner hours so that there are more partners working at busy times, we saw improvements in transactions, sales, and service times, alongside happier, more engaged partners.”
If you find that your nearest Starbucks is closing, we have an impressive library of copycat recipes, including how to make pumpkin cold foam at home. And this year, the coffee chain also released a huge lineup of fall products available at grocery stores nationwide.
