"Second, we’re further reducing non-retail headcount and expenses. This includes the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 900 current non-retail partner roles and close many open positions."
Really surprised about the closing of Starbucks Reserve in Seattle. That place was always bursting at the seams and must have had a major halo effect for the brand. It's hard not to associate the closure with its recent unionization.
Feel bad for those employees. In the last 10 years I've gotten Starbucks maybe twice, both times because we were on the road and needed coffee... and it was the only option. A true fall from grace; The drinks are either sugar bombs or taste burnt and corp loves union busting.
It's always funny to me how they are still insisting on customer experience and good coffee house. In the bay area most starbucks have become the burger king of coffee shops: housing of drunk homeless people
I never understood Starbucks. I live in Europe, we have good coffee places everywhere. They are cheaper and serve significantly better coffee. I can't think of anything I ordered from Starbucks that didn't taste artificial.
I went to Starbucks a lot in Japan because they have a lot of nice non-coffee drinks and have fast + reliable WiFi. A lot of young people go there to work and study too so I didn’t feel out of place.
I've been to one in Milan, in the old postoffice building right smack in the middle of the city and it has an astounding selection of coffee styles and very cool ambiance [1].
But, yeah, I agree that regular shops are underwhelming and overpriced by local European norms.
The coffee is bad but they don't complain if I sit there and work for six hours. I usually see the price as paying for that, not the coffee. Though I do prefer good local coffee shops when I find them, but I feel bad about taking up a table for hours without paying much.
This corporate word substitution bullshit really needs to die.
Nobody on the receiving end of this is a "partner". Partner implies some amount of equality in things, a voice, a considered opinion. The people being cut almost certainly did not want to be cut, and I would wager none of them were asked for their input.
Zero "partners" are impacted by this. The people impacted are employees.
Also, Starbucks do not operate "coffee houses", they're coffee stores at best, or even just "retail locations".
North America coffeehouse count will decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025
Will end with nearly 18,300 total Starbucks locations (company operated and licensed) across US and Canada
Staff Reductions:
Approximately 900 non-retail partner roles eliminated
Additional open non-retail positions closed
Store employees (partners) at closing locations will be offered transfers where possible, or severance packages if transfers aren't available
Who's affected:
Non-retail partners (corporate/support roles) - notified Friday morning
Retail partners at closing coffeehouses - notified during the week of the announcement
Starbucks is closing about 1% of its North American stores due to poor performance or unsuitable locations. The company is eliminating approximately 900 corporate/office jobs and closing many open positions in support roles. Store employees at closing locations will be offered transfers to other stores when possible, or severance packages if no transfers are available.
Weren’t they just celebrating record profits and patting themselves on the back about the profitability of their clever new giftcard/digital payments program a couple of years ago?
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 45.6 ms ] threadWonder how many of these are being closed because they've unionized?
What are the non-retail partners?
I've been to one in Milan, in the old postoffice building right smack in the middle of the city and it has an astounding selection of coffee styles and very cool ambiance [1].
But, yeah, I agree that regular shops are underwhelming and overpriced by local European norms.
[1] https://www.roastery.starbucks.it/
Zero "partners" are impacted by this. The people impacted are employees.
Also, Starbucks do not operate "coffee houses", they're coffee stores at best, or even just "retail locations".
Store Closures:
North America coffeehouse count will decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025 Will end with nearly 18,300 total Starbucks locations (company operated and licensed) across US and Canada
Staff Reductions:
Approximately 900 non-retail partner roles eliminated Additional open non-retail positions closed Store employees (partners) at closing locations will be offered transfers where possible, or severance packages if transfers aren't available
Who's affected:
Non-retail partners (corporate/support roles) - notified Friday morning Retail partners at closing coffeehouses - notified during the week of the announcement
Starbucks is closing about 1% of its North American stores due to poor performance or unsuitable locations. The company is eliminating approximately 900 corporate/office jobs and closing many open positions in support roles. Store employees at closing locations will be offered transfers to other stores when possible, or severance packages if no transfers are available.
Or do we go for our 1200 calorie 'coffee' milkshake on the way to work every morning?