Starbucks to close 250 North American coffee shops

Starbucks will close approximately 250 underperforming coffee shops across North America by the end of the week, according to an internal message sent to employees by Mike Grams, directeur des opérations de Starbucks, on September 24, 2026. The closures represent about 1% of the company’s more than 18,000 stores in the region and will trigger total charges of roughly $300 million for the 2026 fiscal year, covering severance, asset impairments, and lease terminations.

In his message posted to the group’s website, Grams stated that leadership reviewed the North American portfolio and identified sites where the company cannot sustainably deliver the desired customer and employee experience or achieve acceptable financial performance. As of June 28, 2026, Starbucks operated 18,371 locations across North America, marking a 2% decline over the prior year, with 16,933 of those stores situated in the United States. Neither the company nor Grams specified which exact locations would close, what proportion of the affected stores are located within the United States, or how many of the shuttered sites are unionized.

Impact on Growth Plans and Financial Targets

The latest round of store closures directly alters the company’s financial and expansion outlook for the year. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 24, 2026, Starbucks disclosed that net new store openings for 2026 will drop to approximately 440 locations, down from an earlier projection of 600 to 650 net openings. The company indicated that these domestic reductions will be partially offset by stronger-than-expected store openings internationally. At the close of its third fiscal quarter, the global portfolio stood at 41,304 stores, with 67% of them franchised.

The restructuring follows a broader strategy introduced by CEO Brian Niccol after he took the helm in September 2024. Under his Back to Starbucks initiative, the chief executive has focused on menu simplification for food and beverages, store renovations, and weeding out low-performing sites. During the third-quarter earnings presentation in July 2026, Niccol signaled that leadership favored renovating existing locations over opening new ones and anticipated that net store openings in the U.S. would remain flat through 2027. Earlier cuts under the same plan included the elimination of 900 administrative roles in September 2025 alongside hundreds of store closures, which included dozens of locations represented by the Starbucks Workers United union. Following the September 24 announcement, Starbucks stock fell on the New York Stock Exchange, according to Agence France-Presse reports.

Union Response and Labor Friction

The union representing thousands of baristas sharply criticized the leadership’s latest move. Starbucks Workers United announced plans to send a formal request to management demanding detailed information regarding the closures.

The announcement of today proves once again that “Back to Starbucks” is nothing less than a betrayal of what the employees and clients loved in this company.

Starbucks Workers United

The labor organization asserted that executive leadership is actively harming the business and warned that further operational challenges are approaching. The union represents more than 12,000 baristas working across nearly 700 cafés Starbucks in the United States. Labor relations remain tense as representatives attempt to secure a first collective bargaining agreement, utilizing localized strikes, public mobilizations, legal petitions, and boycott calls. On September 23, 2026, the union accused executives of refusing to finalize a fair social agreement.