Starbucks to Close 250 Stores in North America
Starbucks will close 250 North American stores this week. Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams says the targeted locations either underperform financially or cannot meet company standards for customer and employee experience.
- 627 stores closed last September in North America and Europe.
- $300 million in restructuring charges will accompany this closure round.
- $200 million covers lease exits and employee separation costs.
- 18,371 Starbucks stores operated in the region as of late June.
Why it matters: Starbucks is shrinking its footprint while remodeling. The closures reshape where and how the company operates across North America.
- Affected employees will be offered transfers to other stores or severance if placement is not possible.
- 1,200 corporate jobs have been cut since September 2025 across two separate rounds of layoffs.
How 36 sources split on this story
Where they split: Coverage does not split on facts, but right-leaning outlets highlight corporate job cuts prominently while left-leaning outlets emphasize the unresolved unionization question.
Center coverage, 19 sources: The center presents the closures as a straightforward business restructuring under a new CEO, noting both employee support measures and the company's stated commitment to future growth.
Left coverage, 8 sources: The left highlights that more than 700 U.S. stores have voted to unionize and that Starbucks has not disclosed how many closing locations are unionized, raising questions about the closures' effect on labor organizing.
Right coverage, 9 sources: The right frames the story around executive-driven cost-cutting, leading with the CEO's record of axing white-collar jobs alongside the store closures and detailing the full restructuring charge breakdown.
What’s next: 1,500 stores are expected to be retrofitted by September 30, the fiscal year end.
- Starbucks says it remains committed to growing its North American store count long term.
- Which specific stores will close and how many are in the U.S. has not been disclosed.
- How many of the closing stores are unionized remains unknown.
- Whether the company and the union will reach a labor agreement is unresolved.
