(NEW YORK CITY) - Starbucks planned to close 250 North American Stores this week - the second big round of closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024.

Last September, Starbucks closed 627 Stores in North America and Europe.

In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren't delivering acceptable financial results or can't provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees.

The company isn’t saying which Coffeehouses will close or how many are located in the U.S.

Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 12,000 Workers at the 700 company-owned U.S. Starbucks Stores that have voted to Unionize, said 20 Unionized Stores are among the 250 that are closing - or 8% of the total.

Workers United said it has sent a formal request to bargain over the closings to company management and will push for Employees at the stores set to close to be placed at different locations instead of laid off.

In a statement, the Union said the closing continues Starbucks' trend of carrying out a "betrayal of what Workers and customers loved about the company. "

“As Starbucks continues to close stores, violate Labor Law, hike up our health care premiums and betray its core value of belonging to appease Right-Wing politicians, the company is moving farther away from everything it once was. It has never been more clear why Baristas need the backing of a Union. We love our jobs and we know Starbucks doesn’t run without us, so we’re organizing together to demand a better future and a fair contract,” the Union said.

Starbucks Stores have been voting to Unionize since late 2021, but the Union and the company have yet to reach a first contract.

The two sides bargained for about a year from April 2024 to April 2025 when the Union voted to turn down a framework package put forward by management that didn't include wage gains.

Starbucks management has not responded to subsequent Union proposals - though the two sides have reached agreement on over 30 different aspects of the contract, according to the Union.

A Nationwide Strike of more than 4,500 Starbucks workers across 130 stores late last year failed to result in a contract agreement and this Summer the Union called for a Nationwide Boycott of Starbucks that is ongoing and has received the support of numerous other Unions and Labor Coalitions.

In the midst of that boycott - Workers employed at a Queens Starbucks voted 19-to-1 to Unionize with Workers United, the Union announced on September 15th, becoming the 65th Starbucks in New York to Unionize.

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