Restructuring to cost $300 million; workers offered transfers or severance
The closures follow a North American coffeehouse portfolio review that identified locations where the company could not deliver a consistent experience for customers and partners or could not reach acceptable financial performance, according to Grams’s letter.
“We have carefully reviewed our North America coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we do not believe we can consistently deliver the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don’t see a path to acceptable financial performance,” Grams wrote.
The company has not yet specified which locations will close. A regulatory filing indicates most of the affected stores will be shuttered before the end of fiscal 2026.
Grams wrote that employees at affected stores will be offered transfers where possible, with others receiving severance support.
The total restructuring cost is expected to reach about $300 million. Of that sum, roughly $200 million will go toward breaking leases and paying severance benefits to workers, while the remaining $100 million will come from the disposal of restaurant assets owned by the company.
The announcement marks the second major wave of Starbucks closures since Niccol became CEO two years ago, continuing the “Back to Starbucks” improvement initiative announced under his leadership.