Starbucks plans to close 250 North American coffeehouses later this week, saying some cannot consistently deliver its desired customer and employee experience or lack a path to acceptable financial performance. The closures are about 1% of over 18,000 North American stores.
Starbucks has not named the affected locations. It says affected employees will be offered jobs at other stores when possible or severance if they cannot secure another company role. Starbucks Workers United said on Sept. 24 it was sending a formal information request and would bargain at every affected unionized store; the union said 20 of about 700 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores that voted to unionize are among those closing.
Starbucks says the closures are part of its “Back to Starbucks” strategy and will bring $300 million in restructuring charges: $200 million in cash for lease exits and employee separation benefits, plus $100 million non-cash for asset disposal and impairment. In fiscal Q3 2026, North American comparable sales rose 8.1% year over year; Starbucks also lowered its fiscal 2026 global net-new-store outlook from 600–650 to about 440.
