Starbucks to Close 250 Outlets, Preparing for Mass Layoffs
Starbucks has announced that it will close approximately 1% of its cafe outlets in North America. At least 250 underperforming stores will be affected by this policy, out of a total of 18,000 outlets.
Management stated that this is part of a business recovery effort. Under the leadership of CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks has been restructuring its US operations with a focus on enhancing the customer experience, including direct interaction within its cafes.
“We have carefully reviewed our coffee store portfolio in North America and identified locations that we believe cannot consistently provide the experience we desire for our customers and partners, or locations that do not have adequate financial performance prospects,” wrote Starbucks Chief Operating Officer, Mike Grams, in a letter addressed to employees, as reported by CNBC International on Friday (25/09/202<0xC2>6).
The document noted that most of the closures will be completed before the end of the 2026 fiscal year. Starbucks’ fiscal year ends at the end of this month.
For the 2026 fiscal year, Starbucks projects a net opening of 440 new stores, a decrease from previous estimates of between 600 and 650 locations. These new stores will be opened in international markets.
“The company continues to see significant long-term growth opportunities in North America and is actively developing a robust plan for new coffee store openings,” Starbucks stated in an official company report.
Meanwhile, the company expects to incur restructuring costs of approximately US$300 million (IDR 5.28 trillion) related to these closures. About US$200 million of this cost relates to early lease terminations and severance payments for employees.
The remainder, amounting to US$100 million, consists of non-cash costs. This stems from the impairment and write-down of the company’s restaurant assets.
This policy is certain to impact workers through redundancies. In May 2026, Starbucks laid off approximately 300 corporate employees in the US and closed several regional offices, following a similar decision made in September 2025.