Starbucks employees are finding out Thursday the coffee chain will close underperforming stores and leave jobs open as part of a turnaround bid.
Starbucks has over 130 locations in the Pittsburgh area alone but it is not known yet if any will be shut down.
In a letter, CEO Brian Niccol said workers at stores being closed will be notified this week along with 900 others whose jobs are being eliminated.
Those 900 jobs are “current non-retail partner roles.”
Niccol says they will work to transfer as many workers at closing stores to other locations as possible.
“During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” said Niccol.
Starbucks operates nearly 18,300 stores across the United States and Canada. 1,000 of those locations will be renovated “to introduce greater texture, warmth and layered design.”
See the full memo from Niccol here.