Starbucks laying off 1,100 corporate employees; eliminating these 13 beverages…
Starbucks Corp. is streamlining its corporate organization as its new CEO works to revive the chain’s lackluster performance and focus on the customer experience.
The coffee giant will eliminate 1,100 current corporate roles (employees who work outside company-owned stores) and several-hundred additional open and unfilled positions, CEO Brian Niccol said in a message to employees. The cuts do not affect Starbucks’ in-store teams or the investments the company is making in expanding store hours.
“We are simplifying our structure, removing layers and duplication and creating smaller, more nimble teams, Niccol wrote. “Our intent is 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.”
Starbucks plans to inform employees whose jobs are being eliminated by midday Tuesday, Feb. 25. All other changes to partner roles, including responsibilities and reporting structures, will be shared directly with the affected employees by the end of the week.
“Our new structure is built to focus on priority work and is oriented to support the experience we create in our coffeehouses,” Niccol said. “We’ll simplify what we do and how we work to make it easier to drive the business forward. We will continue to hire for priority positions that fit with our new support structure and add capability and capacity we need.”
In the message, Niccol said that Starbucks will do “everything it can” to support those who are leaving, including a comprehensive severance package.
Starbucks had about 16,000 employees who work outside of store locations as of last year, reported CNBC. The cuts will affect people who work in corporate support, but not roasting, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution.
Back to office
Moving forward, Starbucks said employees at the VP level and above in North America will need to work with their teams in the company’s Seattle and Toronto (Canada) offices at least three days a week. The change does not affect hybrid work policies or in-office expectations for other partners.
“Generally, partners working remotely in director and below roles today will keep their remote status,” Niccol said. “Hiring for future roles will require partners to be Seattle or Toronto based, except for enterprise designated remote positions.”
Discontinued Beverages
In other news, Starbucks will remove 13 select beverages — both hot and cold — that aren’t all that popular from its menu by March 4, the company told Today.com. The drinks being removed aren’t commonly purchased, can be complex to make or are similar to other beverages already on its menu, the report said.
In January, Starbucks said it planned a “roughly” 30% reduction in both beverages and food SKUs by the end of fiscal 2025
“We've been focused on simplifying our menu to position partners for success, improve consistency, drive customer satisfaction, and enhance our economics,” Niccol told analysts on the chain’s earnings call in January. “As part of this work, we made some late simplifications to our holiday product lineup and believe we have more opportunities ahead.”
Here are the beverages being discontinued according to the Today.com report:
- Iced Matcha Lemonade;
- Espresso Frappuccino, Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino;
- White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino;
- Java Chip Frappuccino;
- White Hot Chocolate;
- Royal English Breakfast Latte;
- Honey Almondmilk Flat White; and
- Chai Crème Frappuccino, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Crème Frappuccino, Double Chocolaty Chip Crème Frappuccino, Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino and White Chocolate Crème Frappuccino.
