Starbucks filed a WARN notice for 224 corporate job cuts, with 120 tied to employees who declined relocation to its new $100 million Nashville office. The cuts are part of CEO Brian Niccol's restructuring of the company's global support organization.
Starbucks (SBUX) cut 224 corporate jobs, with 120 tied to employees who declined relocation to its new $100 million Nashville office.
"The filing reflects changes already underway as part of the company's previously announced restructuring of its global support organization," a Starbucks spokesperson said. "It is not an additional round of job cuts."
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Thursday with Washington state covers employees at or reporting to Starbucks' Seattle headquarters. About 104 of the separations stem from organizational changes in coffeehouse design and development, while 120 involve workers who chose not to relocate to Nashville, where Starbucks opens a corporate office in 2027. First separations begin Oct. 19, with all completed by Nov. 1.
The cuts mark the eighth Washington layoff notice from Starbucks in two years, totaling 2,538 employees, according to the state's WARN database. Nearly 1,000 workers lost jobs in December 2025, and CEO Brian Niccol laid off 974 non-retail employees in September 2025 as part of his turnaround plan. Starbucks' stock has risen more than any other major restaurant brand through July 2026.
The affected positions span corporate functions including managers, engineers, application developers, real estate employees, store design leads, systems analysts, software quality assurance staff, and technical product managers. Workers are not represented by a union and do not have bumping rights, according to the filing.
Niccol, who joined Starbucks after the board fired predecessor Laxman Narasimhan, received $96 million in 2024 compensation to offset stock value left behind at Chipotle. His restructuring aims to reduce non-retail headcount and expenses while refocusing on the "Third Place" customer experience.
The company's global workforce stood at 381,000 as of September 2025, according to its fiscal 2025 annual report. Starbucks said the corporate restructuring is not intended to change the customer-facing coffeehouse experience.
The layoffs come as Starbucks consolidates regional support offices in three cities and expands its Nashville presence while maintaining its Seattle headquarters. In May, the company filed a separate WARN notice covering 252 employees tied to its Seattle support center, with separations expected to run through Feb. 1, 2027. Earlier in 2026, Starbucks announced layoffs affecting 61 employees tied to its Seattle headquarters and support operations. The company also closed a downtown Seattle store in an office tower earlier this month.
Niccol's cost discipline has been rewarded by investors, with the stock outperforming all major restaurant brands through July. The next event to watch is the completion of separations by Nov. 1 and the Nashville office opening in 2027.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
