Starbucks to lay off nearly 1,000 workers from December

Starbucks will cut 974 jobs in Seattle and Kent from December, according to a filing with the Washington State Employment Security Department.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification was submitted on 9 October, stating that the layoffs will begin on 5 December 2025. The agency confirmed the figures in its public database.

The announcement follows a separate disclosure less than a week earlier in which Starbucks said it would cut 338 jobs across Washington. Those layoffs were described as linked to closures, but the company has not specified whether the new reductions involve corporate or store employees.

The Seattle Times reported that the latest notice is part of a continuing restructuring drive under chief executive Brian Niccol. Several high-profile stores in Seattle, including the Capitol Hill Reserve Roastery and the SoDo Reserve store, have been shut in recent months. Starbucks has said the closures were based on financial performance.

The Capitol Hill site had unionised in 2022, though the company stated that union activity was not a factor in the decision. Starbucks said the location did not have a sustainable path to profitability, according to statements reported by Reuters.

Under federal law, companies with more than 100 employees must file a WARN notice at least 60 days before large-scale layoffs or closures. The December cuts will take Starbucks’ total planned job losses in Washington to more than 1,300 in the space of two announcements this month.

Starbucks has not issued a detailed public comment on the Seattle and Kent reductions.