Starbucks told its staff on Thursday, September 24, 2026, that about 250 coffeehouses in North America will close later that week. Chief operating officer Mike Grams broke the news in a memo, which Business Insider published in full.
The cuts amount to about 1% of the company’s more than 18,000 North American locations. Grams said a review of the portfolio turned up stores where Starbucks does not believe it can reliably deliver the experience it wants, or where it sees no path to acceptable financial results. “Every year we close some coffeehouses and open others as part of managing our portfolio,” he wrote, adding that the company is developing “a strong pipeline of new coffeehouses.”
The list of stores has not been made public. Starbucks said affected employees will be offered transfers where possible, and severance if no other job can be found for them. Grams also promised to steer customers toward nearby stores.
The union pushes back
Workers United, which says it represents more than 12,000 baristas at over 700 Starbucks stores, condemned the move. “Today’s announcement proves again that ‘Back to Starbucks’ is nothing more than a betrayal of what workers and customers loved about the company,” the union said. It told TheStreet it was sending a formal request for information about the closures and would bargain at every unionized store affected. By its count, 20 of the roughly 700 unionized company-owned U.S. stores are on the closure list.
The price tag
According to TheStreet, citing the company’s SEC filing, the round will cost $300 million in restructuring charges. Of that, $200 million is cash, spent on exiting leases and paying separation benefits. The other $100 million is non-cash, tied to disposing of and writing down store assets.
Starbucks ties the closures to its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround under CEO Brian Niccol, who joined from Chipotle in 2024. The plan has brought back ceramic mugs, handwritten cup messages and free refills, along with more seating and a shorter menu. The company says it has finished more than 1,000 store uplifts across the U.S. and Canada and is working toward at least 1,500 by the end of fiscal 2026.
Earlier rounds, and the latest numbers
This is not the first cut. In September 2025 the company closed 627 locations across North America and Europe and eliminated roughly 900 non-retail positions. In May 2026 it laid off another 300 corporate employees and shut some U.S. offices.
The business itself is improving, according to results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Global comparable store sales rose 7.9% and North America comparable sales rose 8.1%. Starbucks opened 175 net new coffeehouses in the quarter and finished with 41,304 worldwide, though its North American count slipped 2% to 18,371. It has lowered its target for fiscal 2026 net openings from roughly 600 to 650 down to about 440.
Sources
- Major coffee chain is closing 250 stores across North America – TheStreet
- Read the Memo: Starbucks Is Closing 250 Underperforming Stores – Business Insider
