Starbucks Closes 250 North American Stores Including Unionized Site
Starbucks is shuttering approximately 250 underperforming North American locations, including a unionized store in Lafayette, Colorado, amid ongoing labor disputes.
Starbucks Corporation is closing approximately 250 coffeehouses across North America, representing about 1% of its regional portfolio. Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams stated the company is targeting locations that fail to achieve acceptable financial performance or deliver the desired customer experience. As part of this effort, the company is implementing 1,500 store uplifts to better analyze performance.
On September 26, the company closed a unionized location in Lafayette, Colorado. Employees at the site reported receiving only two days' notice before the closure. While some staff were offered transfers to other stores, others received severance packages.
Workers United, the union representing the staff, noted that unionized employees secured the flexibility to choose between severance and transfer, a protection not available to non-union baristas. The union continues to demand improved workplace protections, better staffing, and a minimum wage of $17 per hour, while calling for a nationwide boycott of the company.
