Starbucks has cut 61 positions in its technology division at its Seattle headquarters. This decision was revealed in a WARN filing submitted on Thursday.
Led by CEO Brian Niccol, the company is pursuing a turnaround strategy aimed at improving customer experiences and profitability. However, questions remain regarding the recovery of profit margins.
These layoffs were not included in Starbucks’ previous announcement regarding the relocation of some technology roles to a new office in Nashville, Tennessee, which will focus on the company's supply chain.
The WARN filing, dated May 7, clarified that the layoffs are unrelated to any relocation efforts.
According to the filing, the first separations are set to occur on June 20, with all layoffs expected to conclude by August 28.
Starbucks confirmed that affected employees were notified in April. The Seattle Times reported these layoffs based on an internal memo. For more details, see the article on Starbucks' job cuts at its Seattle headquarters.
Anand Varadarajan, who was appointed Chief Technology Officer in December after joining from Amazon, is overseeing these changes. He took over from Deb Hall Lefevre, who left the company in September.
As part of its restructuring, Starbucks has closed numerous underperforming stores and laid off around 1,100 corporate employees last year.
Despite these challenges, Starbucks raised its annual forecasts following a strong quarterly performance reported in late April.