Headlines

Starbucks Corporate Layoffs Begin This Week

Staff shakeups intended to “increase velocity of innovation”

Published

6 years ago

September 25, 2018

kmpeyton

Starbucks Coffee Co. (Seattle) sent an internal memo to its employees stating that the company would be making significant changes to its organization that could include corporate layoffs.

In the memo, obtained by CNBC, CEO Kevin Johnson told employees it would need to “make some significant changes to how we work as leaders in all areas of the company” in order to increase the momentum of innovation in its retail environment.

A source familiar with the plan told CNBC that some positions will be consolidated, while others will shift within the company, and that there will be some non-retail layoffs. Changes could begin as soon as this week, continuing into November.

Starbucks has recently scaled back its store growth and closed underperforming stores amid multiple quarters of weak sales. It’s expected to close roughly 150 stores next year, and it plans to reduce the number of licensed stores to about 100 in 2019.

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