Starbucks plans to lay off approximately 900 non-retail employees as part of restructuring efforts.
The company will close an undisclosed number of stores across the U.S. and Canada to focus resources on turnaround initiatives.
The big picture: These changes are prompted by a review showing many Starbucks locations failing to meet financial targets or customer experience expectations.
- CEO Brian Niccol described the store closures as significant and acknowledged the difficulty of closing coffeehouses that serve as community centers.
- Starbucks expects to finish the fiscal year with around 18,300 stores in North America, down 124 from the previous year.
Go deeper: Niccol joined Starbucks about a year ago as a turnaround specialist, previously leading Chipotle through a period of strong revenue and profit growth.
- Employees affected by layoffs will receive severance packages and support from the company.
