Starbucks is set to lay off 224 employees as part of a restructuring effort, with a significant number declining relocation to its new Nashville office.
Starbucks has announced the layoff of 224 workers, including 120 employees who opted not to relocate from Seattle to the company’s new office in Nashville. Additionally, 104 positions were eliminated from the team responsible for store design and construction.
The company plans to initiate these separations on October 19, with all layoffs expected to be finalized by November 1. This round of layoffs is part of a broader global restructuring effort that Starbucks first announced in May, which involved the elimination of 252 corporate positions.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with Washington state regulators, the layoffs come after a leadership reorganization within the store design and construction team. The 120 employees who chose not to relocate were offered retention packages starting at $15,000, contingent on their continued employment with the company through at least 2027.
Early efforts to encourage relocation faced resistance, as some employees were offered stock grants worth tens of thousands of dollars but were also informed that their salaries would be reduced by at least 5% due to the lower cost of living in Nashville. Starbucks is planning to open its new corporate office in Nashville by 2027.
Despite the layoffs, the number of affected employees represents a small fraction of Starbucks’ global workforce, which stood at 381,000 as of September 2025, according to the company’s fiscal 2025 annual report. This latest round of layoffs marks the eighth instance of job cuts in Washington state over the past two years, during which a total of 2,538 employees have been laid off.
The announcement of these layoffs follows a series of job cuts initiated by current CEO Brian Niccol shortly after he took over the company. In his first month, Starbucks laid off 974 non-retail employees as part of a strategy to reduce non-retail headcount and expenses, as outlined in a statement from September 2025.
In May, Starbucks revealed plans to cut an additional 300 corporate jobs in the United States while also reviewing its international corporate workforce. Earlier, in February 2025, the company announced the elimination of 1,100 jobs and the decision to leave several hundred positions unfilled. This was followed by another 900 job cuts for non-retail employees as part of a comprehensive $1 billion restructuring plan.
CEO Niccol has been focused on cutting $2 billion in costs over a two-year period, which includes closing underperforming locations and divesting a stake in its China business.
According to Bloomberg, these layoffs are part of Starbucks’ ongoing efforts to streamline operations and adapt to changing market conditions.