Starbucks is launching another major wave of shutdowns, with roughly 250 North American coffeehouses set to close this week as the company cuts locations that no longer meet its financial or customer experience standards. According to a September 24 message from Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams, the affected cafes represent about 1 percent of the chain’s more than 18,000 locations across North America. Grams said the company identified stores where it does not see a path to acceptable financial performance or believes the desired experience cannot be consistently delivered.
The latest Starbucks store closures mark the company’s second major shutdown wave in about a year. An Associated Press report says Starbucks has not disclosed a complete list of the 250 locations, how many are in the United States, or how many affected stores are unionized. That leaves employees and customers in some markets waiting to learn exactly how the new round will reshape their local Starbucks footprint.
The numbers become more significant when the latest cuts are added to last year’s restructuring. According to Starbucks’ fiscal 2025 results, the company closed 627 stores under the restructuring plan announced in September 2025, with more than 90 percent of those closures occurring in North America. Adding the approximately 250 locations being targeted now brings the two major restructuring waves to about 877 Starbucks locations since September 2025. That figure specifically covers these large restructuring rounds and should not be confused with every routine store opening or closing Starbucks has made during the same period.
The Starbucks store closures also represent a sharp shift from the expansion that came immediately before the turnaround. Starbucks’ fiscal 2024 results show the company added a net 614 North American locations that year, bringing the region to 18,424 stores. After the 2025 restructuring, North America ended fiscal 2025 with 18,311 locations. By June 28, 2026, the company reported 18,371 North American stores, according to its third-quarter earnings report. The new 250-store shutdown plan comes even as Starbucks says it intends to keep developing new locations.
For workers inside the cafes being closed, Starbucks says a shutdown does not automatically mean termination. In his September 24 message, Grams said the company is speaking directly with affected workers and will offer transfers to other coffeehouses wherever possible. Employees the company cannot place at another location will receive severance support. The company has not publicly disclosed how many retail employees will ultimately lose their jobs. The Associated Press also reported that Starbucks expects about $300 million in restructuring charges connected to this round, including approximately $200 million in cash costs tied to lease exits and employee separation benefits.
The retail closures are only one piece of a much broader workforce restructuring. In February 2025, Starbucks announced that it was eliminating 1,100 support positions. Seven months later, the company announced another 900 nonretail job cuts as part of the same turnaround effort, according to a September 2025 message from Brian Niccol. Then, in May 2026, Starbucks eliminated another 300 United States corporate positions and shut several underused regional offices, according to Reuters. Together, those separate rounds account for at least 2,300 corporate and support job eliminations since early 2025, apart from retail employees affected by individual cafe closures.
What makes the newest Starbucks store closures notable is that they are happening while the company’s broader sales performance is improving. Starbucks’ latest quarterly results showed North American comparable store sales rising 8.1 percent during the quarter that ended June 28, with transactions increasing 4.5 percent. Grams said the North American “business has returned to strong growth,” but acknowledged that some coffeehouses “continue to underperform.” In other words, Starbucks is closing individual stores despite improving results across the wider business.
That approach has become central to Niccol’s effort to rebuild the Starbucks experience. In a September message published by Starbucks, Niccol described several changes already made inside stores. “We brought back cup writing, condiment bars, ceramic mugs and free refills. We announced standards that make it easier for customers to sit and stay,” he wrote. “Uplifts are bringing back seats, warmth and personality to our cafes. And we are making sure every coffeehouse earns its place.” Starbucks says it is accelerating work toward 1,500 upgraded coffeehouses as it tries to make stores more inviting while improving service speed and consistency.
The latest Starbucks store closures make clear that “earning its place” now has a financial meaning as well as a customer experience one. Starbucks is simultaneously remodeling stores, investing in staffing and technology, opening new locations and removing hundreds of cafes that management believes no longer fit the plan. For employees caught in the latest shutdown wave, the immediate question will be whether another Starbucks location can absorb them.
