Global coffee giant Starbucks confirmed on May 15 that it will eliminate 300 support positions in the United States and consolidate some of its regional support offices. The company will also review its international support organization.
“Our focus is now on sustaining our momentum and making our results repeatable and durable, all while delivering a healthy cost structure that supports profitable growth,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times.
The statement said the move is necessary under its “Back to Starbucks” strategy, which aims to enhance consumers’ in-store experience. Meanwhile, company leaders are also concentrating on reducing complexity and lowering costs.
“As a result, we’re eliminating approximately 300 U.S. support roles. We are also reviewing our international support organization as we focus on being a world-class licensor and expect additional role impacts outside the U.S.,” the spokesperson said.
In addition, Starbucks will be streamlining its real estate footprint in the United States, as it plans to consolidate regional support office space. However, the company noted that none of its real estate or restructuring changes relate to its coffee houses.
“Our priority is supporting impacted partners through industry-leading severance, benefits, and transition support,” the spokesperson said.
Since taking charge of the coffeemaker in 2024, CEO Brian Niccol has focused on revitalizing the brand, including overhauling some of its operations.
Meanwhile, during an April 28 earnings call, Niccol said that the company’s consolidated revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended on March 29, was $9.5 billion—an 8 percent year-over-year increase. He noted that Gen Z and millennials drove sales growth and that the company is on track to upgrade more than 1,000 locations in 20 markets by the fiscal year-end.
“Our second quarter marked the turn in our turnaround as our Back to Starbucks plan drove both top and bottom line growth,” Niccol commented in a related statement issued the same day.
The statement also indicated that sales at North American stores grew by 7.1 percent, while international sales increased by 2.6 percent. The company ended the quarter with a total of 41,129 stores, of which 52 percent are company-owned and 48 percent are licensed.
In its K-8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Starbucks announced $400 million in restructuring charges, including $280 million in non-cash charges due to impairment of long-lived assets, and $120 million in cash charges related to employee separate benefits due to the optimization of the global support organization.
Founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1971, Starbucks employs over 380,000 people globally.