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Starbucks lays off hundreds of WA workers after store closures

Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Seattle Times on

Published in Business News

After sweeping store closures around the country last month, Starbucks will lay off 369 employees in Washington, according to a state filing.

A notice filed with Washington state's Employment Security Department on Friday shows the Seattle-based coffee giant's Washington layoffs will be effective Dec. 5.

Closure is the reason for the layoffs, according to the filing.

In Seattle, shuttered locations include the Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill and the Reserve store in Sodo. Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents nearly 12,000 store baristas, tied those two store closures to part of the confirmed layoffs.

The union said Tuesday that the employees of those stores won't be moved elsewhere, and their severance runs through Dec. 5.

Affected workers will be paid for their scheduled shifts through Sunday, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

If laid-off employees were enrolled in benefits, then they would receive three months of fully covered COBRA health insurance premiums, access to mental health support for 18 months and access to the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which covers college tuition, through the December term.

The Starbucks spokesperson said affected workers are also eligible for rehire if they weren't reassigned to a new location.

The official notice of layoffs follows Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol's $1 billion restructuring plan announced last month that includes shuttering an unspecified number of stores around North America and laying off 900 nonretail employees.

At the time, Starbucks didn't specify how many retail workers would be affected by the closures but said it was working to offer them transfers to nearby locations where possible.

“For those we can’t immediately place, we’re focused on partner care including comprehensive severance packages,” Niccol said. Starbucks refers to workers as partners.

 

In total, 59 unionized stores shuttered nationwide, according to Starbucks Workers United. The company has declined to share a list of closed locations.

It's hard to hear," said Trent Lytle-Hogue, who was a barista at the now-shuttered Reserve Roastery. "Starbucks is kind of turning its back on the state."

The morning of Sept. 25 when his store shuttered, Lytle-Hogue woke up to a text from the manager on duty that his location would be closed that day, and more information would be provided on a conference call, he said.

Through local reporting and his union's Discord chat, Lytle-Hogue soon learned that the store was closed permanently.

On the conference call, he said, Starbucks leadership informed the roastery's team members that there was no plan to transfer those employees.

"They're hurting the workers, trying to keep their investors happy, and I just don't think Starbucks looks very good here," Lytle-Hogue said in a Tuesday phone call. "But my heart really goes out to all the workers who are going to have to lose their jobs and have to look for new work."

If he has the chance, however, he would continue to work for Starbucks. Lytle-Hogue said he chose the company for its competitive benefits, and it provided him with a scholarship.

He supports the union's fight for proposals like increased hours and higher pay in contract negotiations.

"I think that, if they treat their employees well and finish their contract, that they can represent what a good company can be," Lytle-Hogue said. "But I don't have faith in CEO Brian Niccol's leadership.


©2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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