A major coffee chain has closed 10 of its UK stores this month as part of a huge global restructure. Starbucks, an iconic brand, known for its expensive brews and personalised cups, is currently working on a massive turnaround plan in order to revive sales and speed up slow service.
According to Brian Niccol, the CEO of the Seattle-based company, work is needed to solve issues from long waiting times to frustrated employees. Starbucks announced last month that it will be closing hundreds of stores across the US and Canada, as well as the loss of 900 office jobs. Stores in the UK also faced the axe.
A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that 10 UK stores have already closed this month. It added that the firm had carried out a full review of its store portfolio to make sure its branches are “correctly located, generating appropriate levels of foot traffic and operating in the right formats.”
Starbucks also launched a consultation in September, which looked at potential store closures as part of a cost-saving restructuring scheme amid slowing sales, reports The Sun.
The plan will see “some” of the 520 company-owned Starbucks spots permanently shut down, and the closures will put all the jobs at these locations at risk, Starbucks confirmed.
Starbucks has, however, said that it is still on track to open 80 new stores in the country this year, and 150 across the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
The firm added: “These decisions impact our partners (employees), their families and the communities where we operate, and we never take them lightly. We’ll do all we can to support those affected by this change.”
It also said it would “make every effort to retain as many partners as possible”, offering transfers to other stores where available, and enhanced pay-offs and well being support to those unable to stay on.
