Starbucks to lay off 1,100 corporate employees amid sluggish sales

Starbucks is laying off 1,100 corporate employees, its CEO said in a letter to workers Monday, marking the coffee chain’s latest move to restructure amid lackluster sales.

Brian Niccol, who took over as CEO last fall, has vowed to woo back customers who have shied away from $8 lattes and long wait times, which have put pressure on sales in recent months. Same-store sales globally slipped 4% in the first quarter of the company’s 2025 fiscal year, which ended Dec. 29. The layoffs, Niccol said in the letter, are aimed at allowing Starbucks to “operate more efficiently” and “reduce complexity.”

The cuts will affect nearly 7% of the company’s 16,000 employees who work outside company-owned stores; baristas are not included. Starbucks had indicated in January that it planned to cut corporate jobs.

“We believe it’s a necessary change to position Starbucks for future success,” Niccol said in his note. The company, he said, will also scrap several hundred open and unfilled positions.

Shares of Starbucks rose more than 1% Monday morning.

The move comes amid Niccol’s efforts to rethink the in-store experience for customers and streamline the business, part of his pledge to bring back the more personal coffeehouse atmosphere for which Starbucks was originally known. He has called for changes to the mobile ordering systems to address surges in orders, and has cut some items from Starbucks’ menu. The company also announced that it would not increase prices for the 2025 fiscal year.

Last month, Niccol shook up the chain’s leadership in North America, a market that accounts for about three-quarters of its revenue.

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