Starbucks is set to close 250 stores across North America, the company’s second major round of closures since Brian Niccol took over as chairman and CEO in 2024, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
The move follows the shuttering of 627 locations across North America and Europe last September — a round that also unfolded under Niccol’s leadership. Together, the two waves mark a notable reversal for a chain that spent decades expanding at a pace that often seemed unstoppable.
Underperforming locations cited
In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the stores on the chopping block either aren’t delivering acceptable income or aren’t providing the experience the company wants for customers and workers. “This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse,” Grams wrote. “While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”
The company did not disclose which coffeehouses are closing or how many of the 250 are in the United States. Starbucks also did not say whether unionization factored into the decision.
Starbucks Workers United, the union representing employees at the roughly 700 company-owned U.S. stores that have voted to organize, said 20 of the closing locations are unionized — about 8% of the total. Workers at Starbucks stores have been voting to unionize since late 2021, and the union and the company have still not reached a labor agreement.
A small slice of a global footprint
Even with the closures, the cuts represent a sliver of Starbucks’ worldwide presence. As of late June, the Seattle-based company reported more than 41,000 company-operated and licensed locations across 90 markets. At the end of June, it had 18,371 stores in North America, per the AP.
Grams said Starbucks remains committed to expanding in the region despite the cuts.
The company is also in the middle of an effort to retrofit its North American outlets to, as the AP put it, make them “cozier and more inviting.” Starbucks expects 1,500 stores to be retrofitted by the end of this month.
Severance and layoffs
Employees at closing stores will be transferred to other locations where possible or given severance if a transfer isn’t available, the company said.
The closures come alongside cuts to corporate staff. Roughly 900 non-retail employees were laid off during the last major closure, and an additional 300 corporate employees were let go in May.
The retrenchment follows public pressure from former CEO Howard Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1987 and is widely credited with building it into a global giant. In 2024, after a drop in revenue that year, Schultz urged senior leaders, including board members, to spend more time talking with baristas and to focus on offering drinks customers actually want.
“I have emphasized that the company’s fix needs to begin at home: U.S. operations are the primary reason for the company’s fall from grace,” Schultz said. “The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant. The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores.”
The closures announced Thursday are the latest signal that Niccol’s turnaround effort is prioritizing store-level performance over the sheer footprint growth that defined the chain for years.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/09/25/33756312starbucks-closing-250-stores-in-north-america-following-more-than-600-shuttered-last-year/