Union pushes back on closing of 250 Starbucks locations

Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores this week.

It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe.

In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren't delivering acceptable financial results or can't provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees.

The company didn't say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many are located in the U.S.

'Baristas need the backing of a union'

Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 12,000 workers at the 700 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores that have voted to unionize, said 20 unionized stores are among the 250 that are closing, or 8 percent of the total.

Workers United said that it has sent a formal request to bargain over the closings to company management and will push for employees at the stores set to close to be placed at different locations instead of laid off. In a statement, the union said the closing continues Starbucks' trend of carrying out a "betrayal of what workers and customers loved about the company. "

“As Starbucks continues to close stores, violate labor law, hike up our healthcare premiums, and betray its core value of belonging to appease right-wing politicians, the company is moving farther away from everything it once was," the union said. “It has never been more clear why baristas need the backing of a union. We love our jobs, and we know Starbucks doesn’t run without us, so we’re organizing together to demand a better future and a fair contract.”

Starbucks stores have been voting to unionize since late 2021, but the union and the company have yet to reach a first contract. The two sides bargained for about a year from April 2024 to April 2025 when the union voted to turn down a framework package put forward by management that didn't include wage gains.

Starbucks management has not responded to subsequent union proposals though the two sides have reached agreement on over 30 different aspects of the contract, according to the union.

A nationwide strike of more than 4,500 Starbucks workers across 130 stores late last year failed to result in a contract agreement and this summer the union called for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks that is ongoing and has received the support of numerous other unions and labor coalitions.

In the midst of that boycott workers at a Queens Starbucks voted 19-1 to unionize with Workers United, the union announced on Sept. 15, becoming the 65th Starbucks in New York to unionize.

Company to retrofit stores

Grams said Starbucks is continuing to retrofit its North American coffeehouses to make them cozier and more inviting. The company expects 1,500 stores will be retrofitted by Sept. 30, which is the end of Starbucks' fiscal year.

"This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse," Grams said in his letter. "While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you."

Grams said Starbucks is still committed to growing its store count in North America. At the end of June, the company had 18,371 stores in the region.

Starbucks said it will transfer employees to other stores if possible or provide severance support if it's not able to place an employee in another location. 

Starbucks has also been cutting its corporate ranks. The company laid off 900 nonretail employees when it closed stores last September. In May, Starbucks laid off an additional 300 corporate employees and closed some underused U.S. offices.

The company said it will incur $300 million in restructuring charges with this round of closures, including $200 million in cash charges as it exits leases and pays employee separation benefits and $100 million in non-cash charges due to the disposal and impairment of coffeehouse assets.