Starbucks Corporation Layoff — December 2025

Starbucks Corporation announced as part of a $1 billion restructuring plan that it will eliminate 900 employees in non-retail roles across North America. The company also plans to close a number of underperforming coffeehouse locations — about a 1% net decline in North American store count for the fiscal year after some openings — and expects to end fiscal 2025 with roughly 18,300 U.S. and Canada stores. CEO Brian Niccol said affected store employees will be informed this week and the company will attempt to relocate partners to other stores or provide comprehensive severance. The actions are presented as planned workforce reductions tied to restructuring and efforts to improve store environments and financial performance.

Starbucks Corporation disclosed this layoff in an official WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice recorded by the WA state workforce agency on October 9, 2025. The notice covers 974 employees in Seattle, Kent, WA (Permanent County), with the layoff effective December 5, 2025.

That is roughly 0.3% of the 383,000 people Starbucks Corporation employs.

LayoffTalk has tracked 42 layoff events at Starbucks Corporation since June 2023, including 2,538 jobs documented in official WARN filings, with 32 additional events known from news reporting.