Nearly 1,000 Starbucks workers in Seattle, Kent to be laid off

Starbucks to layoff nearly 1,000 Seattle, Kent workers

Starbucks is laying off nearly 1,000 workers in Seattle and Kent, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.

SEATTLE - Starbucks is laying off nearly 1,000 workers in Seattle and Kent, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.

What we know:

The company announced 974 non-retail workers will be affected by layoffs starting December 5, 2025. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) was submitted to state officials on Oct. 9.

This comes less than a week after Starbucks publicly disclosed it would be laying off 338 workers in various locations across Washington. While those layoffs were labeled as a "closure," the recent separations were unspecified.

These are all part of the layoffs that Starbucks announced last month.

It's unknown if these layoffs will affect Starbucks corporate or in-store employees.

Several other Starbucks locations around Seattle recently closed, including the Capitol Hill Reserve Roastery, as part of a company shakeup by CEO Brian Niccol, working to reverse a post-pandemic slump.

Starbucks closes Seattle's Reserve Roastery

The Starbucks Reserve stores in Seattle's Capitol Hill and SODO neighborhoods are now closed. The coffee giant confirmed the two are closing as part of 180 stores being shut down as the company restructures.

The Capitol Hill Reserve Roastery unionized in 2022, and have been demanding more staffing, on-the-job protections and pay. Starbucks said the closure did not have to do with the store employees' decision to unionize, saying the reason was, "We don't see a path to financial performance."

A WARN announcement is required by companies to give 60 days notice before planned mass layoffs. A full layoff and closure database can be found on the Washington State Employment Security Department's website.

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