Usually, news coming out of Starbucks is positive, like a new seasonal drink or a quirky Frappuccino being sold overseas. This time, their recent announcement isn’t filled with holiday cheer. The company laid off five percent of their corporate staff right before the holidays, and restructuring is to blame.
All in all, around 350 employees were let go, with most of them working out of the company’s Seattle headquarters. News of the cuts was initially announced in September, meaning that the company has had somewhat of a tense season.
“Today will be a difficult day for all of us,” Kevin Johnson, the company’s CEO, said in an internal email to employees that was obtained by Bloomberg. “As we continue evolving our core areas of marketing, creative, product, technology and store development, we are making some significant changes to these areas, as well as other functions across our global business.”
Even though Starbucks isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, they still need to prove that they can grow as a company.
You may have heard that Frappuccino sales have fallen in recent years, and it could be because customers are getting a little more health-conscious. While delicious, many of the company’s offerings aren’t necessarily good diet staples.
Bloomberg states that they’re also making changes in their European corporate operations. In fact, every tough decision made on who to cut was reportedly discussed by leaders throughout the entire company. In doing so, they helped ease the minds of investors who weren’t too sure about the future of Starbucks.
These layoffs can mean big changes in the future for the brand. Let’s just hope that everyone affected by the cuts will find new places to work before the year ends.
