Starbucks Closes 250 Stores
Starbucks is shutting 250 North American cafes in a second wave of closures.
What happened
Starbucks will close about 250 North American stores later this week, affecting roughly 1% of its regional footprint. The closures are part of a turnaround effort under CEO Brian Niccol. They follow last September’s shutdown of 627 stores in North America and Europe. Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy focuses on faster service, warmer cafes and more coffeehouse-like touches. The company said it chose stores that cannot deliver the experience it wants or lack a path to acceptable financial performance. It said workers will transfer where possible, or receive severance support. Starbucks expects about $300 million in restructuring charges. It has not named the closing locations.
From the left
Left-leaning accounts framed the decision as another retrenchment under Brian Niccol, while tying it to Starbucks’ labor tensions. The Boston Globe stressed that this was Niccol’s second major closure round. It also noted that more than 700 U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late 2021. The Globe used Starbucks executive Sara Grams’s performance rationale as the company’s explanation.
From the right
Right-leaning accounts treated the closures as targeted pruning, leaning harder on store performance and customer experience than labor conflict. Fox Business cited Mike Grams saying a small share of profitable North American stores had been struggling. The New York Post placed the move inside Niccol’s broader restructuring push. Fox Business also carried Starbucks’s message that closings are difficult and workers may get transfers or severance.
Starbucks to shutter 250 stores in North America, a year after big wave of closings
Starbucks to shutter 250 stores in North America this week in 2nd wave of closings
Starbucks is closing 250 stores. Read the memo it sent to staff.
Starbucks to shutter 250 locations in North America - UPI.com
Starbucks to close 250 stores: 'Difficult decision'
Starbucks to Close 250 Stores Across North America