Starbucks shutters another Seattle store as closures and layoffs mount

Starbucks has closed another store in Seattle, this time downtown.

The coffeehouse at 999 Third Ave. closed on Friday, The Puget Sound Business Journal reported.

Starbucks closed the downtown location shortly after DocuSign made plans to move out of the building by next July.

The coffee giant has gone through a series of store closures and layoffs leading up to the closure of the downtown store.

Starbucks lays off around 900 employees, closes at least 28 stores in WA

In September, Starbucks announced it was laying off around 900 employees and closing at least 28 stores in Washington, including the first roastery the company created.

The company said it was closing stores “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.”

5 more locations shuttered

In March, Starbucks confirmed it was closing five more locations.

“As a standard course of business, we regularly review how our coffeehouses serve their neighborhoods and if they are meeting customers where they are,” Starbucks said in a statement to KIRO Newsradio. “Sometimes that means investing in updates or trying new formats. Other times, it means making the difficult decision to close a location that no longer fits how people in that community live, work, or gather. These choices are never easy — especially here at home — but they’re an important part of focusing on what we do best and delivering on our Back to Starbucks strategy.”

With the store closures came the layoffs of 69 workers.

Nashville corporate office announced

In April, Starbucks announced it was establishing a corporate office in Nashville. The coffee giant said it plans to move or hire 2,000 workers to the new Nashville office over the next five years.

The 2,000 employees would be more than half of Starbucks’ employees in the Seattle area. Despite the seismic move, Starbucks maintained that Seattle would remain its North American and global headquarters.

Additional layoffs in May

In May, Starbucks laid off 61 more corporate workers at its Seattle headquarters. Later that same month, Starbucks announced another round of layoffs, that time cutting a staggering 300 corporate jobs and shuttering several regional support offices.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz criticizes Seattle

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz subsequently publicly criticized Seattle, arguing the city had turned “hostile” to the very businesses that call it home in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.

Schultz also called out Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, saying her socialist ideals hurt employers.

“Seattle’s mayor, Katie Wilson, has chosen to cast business as a foil rather than a partner,” he wrote. “Her socialist rhetoric vilifies employers, even while she continues to rely on them for revenue. She has encouraged residents who disagree with her policies to leave.”

Schultz said Seattle faces “serious problems,” such as homelessness, budget deficits, and a slow hiring cycle. He pointed to Starbucks shifting jobs to Tennessee, and warned future entrepreneurs will look elsewhere if leaders “demonize business.”

Contributing: Julia Dallas, Jason Sutich, and Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest

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