Starbucks is to lay off 1,100 corporate and administrative employees as part of its re-organisation strategy.
The move was announced by chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who stated that the affected employees would be notified by midday on Tuesday 25 February 2025.
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Starbucks will outline the compensation, healthcare benefits and career transition services it will offer to those leaving.
The layoffs were communicated in a message from Niccol on 24 February 2025 to all global support partners. The message highlighted the decisions impacting non-retail support partners.
Despite the cutbacks, Starbucks has assured that in-store teams and investments in store hours will remain unaffected by these changes.
Niccol stated: “In January, I shared that we were evaluating the role, structure and size of our global support teams to help us deliver on our ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan and position the company for future success.”
“The leadership team has finished that work, and this week we will communicate the changes we’re making. This includes the hard decision to eliminate 1,100 current support partner roles and several hundred additional open and unfilled positions.
“We are simplifying our structure, removing layers and duplication and creating smaller, more nimble teams. We intend to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration – all with the goal of being more focused and able to drive greater impact on our priorities.”
The coffee chain has also announced that from 4 March 2025, it will eliminate a selection of beverages from its menu.
Items to be cut include several Frappuccino blended beverages, the Royal English Breakfast Latte and the White Hot Chocolate.
These beverages are infrequently ordered, complex to prepare or too similar to other offerings on the menu.
Starbucks aims to concentrate on fewer, more popular items.
The move paves the way for innovation, reduces customer wait times and enhances the quality and consistency of its products.
In January 2025, Starbucks reported a flat net revenue of $9.39bn for the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2025 (FY25), down slightly from $9.42bn in the same quarter of the previous year. The company’s net earnings for Q1 2025, ending 29 December 2024, fell 23.8% to $780.8m, down from $1.02bn in Q1 2024.
