Starbucks to Close More Than 400 Stores and Cut Employees

Starbucks has been reimagining itself recently, even closing an iconic Dallas store (the first in Texas) in 2023. We can’t help but wonder if this is to compensate for the commercial failure of the Oleato line: former CEO Howard Schultz came up with the idea, thinking olive oil in coffee would be transformational, but it actually gave us stomach aches.

A new CEO, Brian Niccol, is at the helm of the company now and is making big changes. Stores and baristas are now encouraged to create more inviting spaces and engage in conversations with customers. This marks a shift from the previous grab-and-go model adopted by the company.. More doodles. Less eye rolling.

After six consecutive quarters of declining sales, Niccol set out to turn things around by reviewing its locations.

“During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” Niccol said.

The company will close more than 400 stores this month, about 1% of its locations. The company has 18,734 North American locations and will whittle it down to 18,300 stores by the end of September.

In a letter to employees, Niccol said that there will be an additional 900 layoffs for non-retail roles, meaning corporate roles.

The company also plans to remodel more than 1,000 stores with cozier chairs, more power outlets and warmer color schemes.

In addition to the store closures and corporate layoffs, many open positions will be closed. So if you applied recently, it’s not you, it’s them.

There is no word yet on which North Texas stores are closing, but we will update you once we know.