Starbucks announced Friday that is laying off 300 additional corporate employees and closing several regional offices after earlier this week providing details on the elimination of 61 tech roles in Seattle.
The cuts aim to “further sharpen focus, prioritize work, reduce complexity, and lower costs,” a spokesperson said by email. The company axed nearly 2,000 corporate roles last year, according to past reports.
Starbucks did not announce any new store closures, but will shutter offices in Atlanta, Burbank, Chicago and Dallas while maintaining its Seattle headquarters and offices in New York, Toronto and Coral Gables, Fla. The company is also opening a new office in Nashville.
The moves are part of the company’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy, launched by CEO Brian Niccol to bolster performance and refocus attention on its coffeehouses and customer service.
On a quarterly earnings call last month, Niccol highlighted several tech innovations aimed at improving coffeehouse efficiency and productivity:
- Plans to install automated Mastrena machines that can pull four espresso shots in less than 30 seconds.
- Improved use of its Smart Queue system, which uses algorithms to manage the flow of cafe, drive-thru, and mobile orders.
- A digital system called the GROW Report that provides insights into coffeehouse performance.
Starbucks, which has 41,129 coffee shops worldwide, previously reported revenue growth of 8% compared to the same period last year.
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