Starbucks is closing stores & laying off workers. Will this affect NC?
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- Starbucks will close 1% of North American stores in fiscal year 2025.
- Company will eliminate 900 non-retail jobs and reduce open corporate roles.
- Mobile-only Starbucks Pick Up stores will close.
Starbucks is planning to close North America stores and lay off hundreds of workers, its CEO said Thursday, Sept. 25.
By the end of the company’s fiscal year, Starbucks will have about 18,300 locations across the U.S. and Canada, CEO Brian Niccol said.
That means the overall company-operated coffeehouse count in North America will decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025, after accounting for closures and new store openings.
“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” Niccol said. “This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.”
In its third quarter earnings release, Starbucks reported having 18,734 stores in North America. Of those, 11,453 were company-operated stores. One percent of the company-operated locations is about 114, but 1% of the total company-operated and licensed stores is around 187.
The closures are part of the company’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy, spearheaded by the CEO, who previously led Chipotle Mexican Grill and Taco Bell. Since Niccol joined the company in September 2024, Starbucks has rolled out several initiatives including redesigning stores, eliminating fees for non-dairy milks and standardizing upcharges for add-ons such as sauces and sweeteners.
Which Starbucks stores are closing?
Starbucks did not release a list of the stores that will be shuttered, nor did it provide a specific number of stores that will close.
However, Niccol said in a blog post that “coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance” will close.
This new announcement comes months after the company said it was shutting down select locations across the country.
In a July earnings call, Niccol said Starbucks would sunset its mobile order and pick-up only concept in fiscal year 2026. The CEO described the concept as “overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand.”
These mobile order and pick-up only Starbucks Pick Up stores have a smaller footprint and no seating for customers.
According to the company’s website, there are three Starbucks Pick Up locations in North Carolina — at the Ally Charlotte Center on Tryon Street in Charlotte, on 9th Street in Durham and at 2526 Hillsborough St. near Pogue Street in Raleigh.
Nationwide, there are around 90 Starbucks Pick Up stores, according to the company’s website.
In fiscal year 2026, Starbucks will grow its store footprint, Niccol said. And within the next 12 months, the Seattle-based company will “uplift” more than 1,000 stores.
Starbucks plans to lay off workers, eliminate 900 roles
Workers in stores scheduled to close will be notified this week, Niccol said. Some will be transferred to nearby locations, but others will be let go and may be offered “comprehensive severance packages.”
In addition to the workers who may be laid off as a result of the retail store closures, Starbucks said it is eliminating about 900 non-retail partner roles and closing “many” open positions to reduce non-retail headcount and expenses.
These non-retail workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be notified Friday morning, Sept. 26, Niccol said, adding that the company “will offer generous severance and support packages including benefits extensions.”
This is Starbucks’ second major layoff announcement this year. In February, Niccol told employees that 1,100 non-retail roles were being eliminated.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Starbucks is closing stores & laying off workers. Will this affect NC?."
