Starbucks to lay off 1,100 of corporate employees

New Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol announced Monday the national coffee shop chain will lay off 1,100 corporate employees worldwide amid declining profits. 

Starbuck's net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 fell 3% to $9.1 billion.

Niccol made the announcement in a letter to Starbucks employees in which he also said he would announce who would lose their jobs by midday Tuesday. 

Additionally, several hundred open and unfilled positions would be eliminated.

Niccol forewarned last month that corporate layoffs would be announced by early March. 

“Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration,” Niccol wrote.

According to the Associated Press, Starbucks has 16,000 corporate employees worldwide. The layoffs will not affect the roasting, warehouse and barista staff.

“Our size and structure can slow us down, with too many layers, managers of small teams and roles focused primarily on coordinating work,” Niccol wrote.

Starbuck was among the first to cash in on America's coffee and cafe craze but has struggled in recent years amid competition from other chains and independent shops and such challenges as customers' long waits in lines, too many drink-menu options, and an overcomplicated corporate system.

In addition, safety  concern, particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic era, forced Starbucks to close shops in such big cities as Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon.