SEATTLE, United States – Starbucks is preparing to close approximately 250 coffeehouses across North America in a second major round of store closures under Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol, as the company continues a restructuring effort aimed at improving store performance and customer experience.
The closures, approved by Starbucks’ board on September 22, represent about 1% of the company’s more than 18,000 North American coffeehouses. Most are expected to be completed before the end of Starbucks’ fiscal 2026, which falls later this month.
Starbucks expects the move to generate about $300 million in restructuring charges. Approximately $200 million will be cash costs, primarily related to lease exits and employee separation benefits, while another $100 million will be non-cash charges related to disposal and impairment of company-operated coffeehouse assets.
The company has not identified the individual locations that will close or disclosed how many are in the United States versus Canada.
Starbucks says underperforming stores are being removed
Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the company reviewed its North American coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations that were either not delivering the experience Starbucks expects or lacked a path to acceptable financial performance.
Starbucks said it remains committed to expanding in North America despite the closures.
The company is also continuing a program to renovate existing coffeehouses. Starbucks said it expects to complete 1,500 coffeehouse “uplifts” by September 30, the end of its fiscal year, as part of its broader Back to Starbucks strategy.
The company has framed the closures as portfolio management rather than a retreat from the North American market.
■ Related News
That distinction is reflected in Starbucks’ latest regulatory filing. The company said it continues to see significant longer-term growth opportunities in North America and is developing a pipeline of new coffeehouses even as it removes locations that are not meeting its financial or operating expectations.
The second major closure round in a year
The latest announcement follows a much larger restructuring launched in September 2025.
Starbucks closed 627 stores across North America and Europe during that restructuring and eliminated about 900 non-retail positions. More than 90% of those 627 closures were in North America.
The 2025 restructuring was part of a broader plan announced after Niccol took over as CEO in September 2024.
The new closures therefore represent a second significant reduction in the company’s North American footprint during Niccol’s tenure.
Starbucks has also reduced its corporate workforce during 2026. The company announced 300 corporate job cuts in May and closed several underused U.S. offices.
The latest store reductions are more narrowly focused on the retail portfolio.
Store growth forecast is also being reduced
The closures are affecting Starbucks’ expectations for overall store growth.
In its September 22 regulatory filing, Starbucks said it now expects approximately 440 net new company-operated and licensed coffeehouses globally during fiscal 2026.
That is down from its previous forecast of between 600 and 650 net new locations. Starbucks attributed the reduction in part to the approximately 250 North American closures, partially offset by higher net new openings in international markets.
The revision means Starbucks expects to add fewer locations globally than previously anticipated even while continuing to describe North America as a long-term growth market.
Employees will be transferred where possible
The closures will affect workers as well as the physical store network.
Starbucks said it plans to provide transfer opportunities for employees at affected stores where positions are available. Workers who cannot be placed at another coffeehouse will receive severance support.
The company did not provide a total number of employees expected to be affected by the 250 closures.
The closures also come against a continuing labor dispute between Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United.
More than 700 U.S. company-owned Starbucks locations have voted to unionize since late 2021, according to the Associated Press. The union and Starbucks have not reached a national labor agreement. Starbucks Workers United said it plans to request information about the planned closures and bargain over the effects at unionized locations.
The company has not disclosed how many of the 250 stores scheduled to close are unionized.
Starbucks is restructuring while sales recover
The timing of the closures is significant because Starbucks has simultaneously reported improving sales performance.
The company’s stated strategy is to improve the experience inside its stores, increase service speed and remodel locations while removing stores that it considers structurally underperforming.
That creates a different picture from a conventional store contraction caused solely by falling sales.
Starbucks is attempting to reduce parts of its existing footprint while continuing to invest in locations it believes can perform better.
The company said the store renovations have given management a clearer view of individual coffeehouse performance. Most locations are benefiting from the broader improvement, it said, but some continue to underperform.
The closures therefore form part of a broader attempt to reshape the network rather than simply reduce its size.
A smaller footprint does not necessarily mean a smaller Starbucks
Starbucks’ latest filing makes clear that the company is not abandoning North American expansion.
Instead, the company is trying to change the composition of its store base.
Locations that do not meet financial or operational expectations are being removed, while Starbucks says it is developing a pipeline of new stores and investing in existing locations.
The distinction will become clearer as the company reports future store openings and comparable sales.
For now, the immediate change is straightforward: roughly 250 North American coffeehouses are scheduled to close, the second major closure wave in a year, while the company lowers its global store-growth forecast and takes another substantial restructuring charge.
The latest action leaves Starbucks with a smaller North American store base at the end of fiscal 2026 than it otherwise would have had, but the company says the restructuring is intended to support continued growth rather than signal an exit from the market.
Reporting Credit: Starbucks Corporation — September 22, 2026 Form 8-K on additional restructuring actions, North American store closures, restructuring costs and revised fiscal 2026 store-growth guidance; Starbucks — September 24, 2026 statement from Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams on the coffeehouse portfolio review, store closures and employee support.
