Starbucks to lay off 300 U.S. employees, close some regional offices
Starbucks’ corporate headquarters are located in Seattle. The company announced its second quarter earnings on April 27, 2021.
Toby Scott | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Starbucks It announced a new round of corporate layoffs on Friday and said it planned to close some regional support offices as part of its ongoing transformation.
The company added that it would cut 300 jobs in the U.S. and has begun a review of its international corporate workforce. The layoffs do not affect coffee shop employees.
The coffee chain said the combined severance costs and reassessment of office space would result in a restructuring charge of $400 million. Starbucks expects to record $280 million in non-cash charges due to impairment of long-lived assets and $120 million in cash charges due to layoffs.
“We are taking further action under the Return to Starbucks strategy, building on our strong business momentum and working to return the company to sustained, profitable growth,” a Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC. he said. “Leaders took a hard look at their respective functions to further sharpen focus, prioritize work, reduce complexity and reduce costs.”
Friday’s announcement marks the third round of layoffs at Starbucks since CEO Brian Niccol took over. In February 2025, Niccol said the company would lay off 1,100 people and leave several hundred other open positions unfilled. Seven months later, the company announced another 900 layoffs for its non-retail employees as part of a $1 billion restructuring plan.
Starbucks had 9,000 U.S. non-retail employees and 5,000 international employees working in regional support operations roles as of Sept. 28, 2025, according to a regulatory filing.
During Niccol’s tenure, the company underwent an expensive and inefficient transformation of its U.S. business. The coffee giant’s sales have fallen due to increased competition and the weight of demand for beverages from budget-conscious consumers. Under Niccol, Starbucks improved its cafeteria operations, added stylish new menu items, reintroduced seating at its locations, and increased the number of staff at its coffee shops.
The company reported that U.S. same-store sales rose 7.1% in the latest quarter, driven by a 4.3% increase in transactions. This was Starbucks’ second straight quarter of traffic growth at its U.S. cafes, signaling that the company’s turnaround plan was working.
“This quarter was a turning point for Starbucks and a turning point in our turnaround,” Niccol said in a video released alongside the company’s second-quarter financial results in April.
Correction: Starbucks had 9,000 non-retail employees in the US as of September 2025. In an earlier version, this number was stated incorrectly.
