SEATTLE — Starbucks Corp. is eliminating 1,100 of its support partners — people that work for the company outside of its stores — and erasing several hundred additional open and unfilled positions in a restructuring move announced Feb. 24.
“In January, I shared that we were evaluating the role, structure and size of our global support teams to help us deliver on our ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan and position the company for future success,” said Brian Niccol, chief executive officer, Starbucks. “We are simplifying our structure, removing layers and duplication and creating smaller, more nimble teams. Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration. All with the goal of being more focused and able to drive greater impact on our priorities.”
Those affected by the layoffs will be notified by midday on Feb. 25. Niccol added that all vice president-level leaders and higher in North America will now need to report to the company’s Seattle or Toronto offices at least three days a week.
“We will maintain a designated set of in-market roles to directly support our green apron partners and coffeehouse operations in specific geographies,” he said.
The back-to-office directive does not include employees working remotely in director and below roles.
“Our new structure is built to focus on priority work and is oriented to support the experience we create in our coffeehouses,” Niccol said. “We’ll simplify what we do and how we work to make it easier to drive the business forward.”
