Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees and close several hundred open or vacant job positions, the company announced on Monday. The layoffs are the largest in the company’s history.
“Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration,” CEO Brian Niccol wrote in a letter to staff.
The company has around 16,000 corporate employees globally, including 10,000 in the US. Warehouse, roasting and store employees are not included in the cuts. Niccol first alluded to the layoffs in January 2025 as part of the CEO’s corporate restructuring plan.
“Our size and structure can slow us down, with too many layers, managers of small teams and roles focused primarily on coordinating work,” Niccol wrote in a letter to employees in January, stating the layoffs would be announced in mid-March.
He has also said he is pushing changes to improve store service times, cutting items from Starbucks’ menu and experimenting with new ordering algorithms.
Niccol has also overseen a shift in the company’s approach to its stores unionizing, after workers represented by Starbucks Workers United have successfully unionized at over 500 stores across the US, with more than 10,500 workers.
The union has been fighting for a first union contract at the company since the first store won its union election in late 2021.
In late 2024, contract negotiations broke down with workers holding strikes over the holiday season in December to demand economic improvements for workers at the bargaining table. The union has criticized Niccol’s compensation package, who received around $96m in compensation in his first four months in the job.
