The Daily Populous Thursday September 25th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by cnn.com and submitted by jokekiller94

Starbucks is taking “significant action” to turn around its struggling business, closing a large number of cafés and announcing a second round of layoffs at its headquarters as part of CEO Brian Niccol’s efforts to resuscitate the troubled chain.

Niccol announced Thursday that Starbucks will close hundreds of stores this month, or about 1% of its locations. The company had 18,734 North American locations at the end of June, and the company said it will end September with 18,300 stores.

The company expects its restructuring efforts will cost $1 billion. Shares of Starbucks (SBUX) were flat in premarket trading.

In a letter to employees, Niccol said the company underwent a review of its footprint and the locations that will close were ones “unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance.”

Starbucks often closes locations for a variety of reasons, including underperformance. But Niccol said this larger-scale effort is more substantial.

“This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult,” he said.

Despite the hundreds of closures, which will take place before the end of the company’s fiscal year next week, Starbucks said it will return to growth mode and it also plans to remodel more than 1,000 locations. The new look for Starbucks features a cozier chairs, more power outlets and warmer colors.

In addition to the store closures, Starbucks announced an additional 900 corporate layoffs, on top of the roughly 1,000 layoffs in February. Affected employees will be notified Friday and will receive “generous severance and support packages.” Also, “many” open positions will be closed, he announced.

“I know these decisions impact our partners and their families, and we did not make them lightly,” Niccol wrote. “I believe these steps are necessary to build a better, stronger and more resilient Starbucks that deepens its impact on the world and creates more opportunities for our partners, suppliers and the communities we serve.”

Niccol joined Starbucks about a year ago, hoping to revive the storied coffee chain. However, the financial results haven’t come to fruition with the stock down about 12% and sales haven’t turned around.

He’s pared back the menu by about 30%, while also introduced new items to keep the the brand on trend, like protein toppings and coconut water. Food is also getting a revamp, with new croissants and baked goods being rolled out.

In addition to remodels, smaller touches have been integrated like bringing back self-serve milk and sugar stations as well doodles on coffee cups. The company also tweaked its name to “Starbucks Coffee Company” to reinforce its coffee roots.

However, his changes have butted heads with some baristas including uniform changes that sparked lawsuit. And some new drinks are causing stress for baristas for being over complicated to make during peak times.

This story has been updated with additional context.

zlide on September 25th, 2025 at 12:59 UTC »

It’s funny how they mention that they’re specifically planning on renovating locations after the downsizing to make them more comfortable and inviting. They just finished a total renovation of a location near me and they did like the exact opposite of this, the seating is noticeably cheaper and less comfortable with less of it than before, the lighting is terrible, and the layout is less functional with a side exit that used to be right by the pick up counter now completely closed off with the pick up counter moved.

All this rambling to say that no, the renovations will probably not be for increased comfort they will be to further streamline and cut more corners to try to save a buck in the long term.

Squawkings on September 25th, 2025 at 12:28 UTC »

Didn't the CEO get a huge raise not too long ago?...

ashsolomon1 on September 25th, 2025 at 12:26 UTC »

Damn. Didn’t think they would close the Starbucks across the street from the other Starbucks