Starbucks has filed a new layoff notice with Washington state, covering 224 jobs tied to its Seattle headquarters — but the company insists this is not another round of cuts. The notice, submitted Thursday to the Washington Employment Security Department, covers employees who work at or report to the coffee giant’s headquarters at 2401 Utah Ave.
According to the filing, about 104 of the layoffs stem from organizational changes connected to the restructuring Starbucks announced in May. The remaining 120 involve employees who were offered the chance to transfer to the company’s Nashville, Tennessee, office but declined to relocate.
A Starbucks spokesperson told KOMO News the filing reflects changes already underway as part of the previously announced restructuring of its global support organization. It is not an additional round of job cuts. The roughly 104 support roles affected by the organizational changes are primarily in coffeehouse design and development. That group operated on a different timeline after a new leader was hired in April and needed time to assess the organization.
The 120 separations involve employees, including those in technology support roles, who chose not to move to Nashville. The WARN letter states that employees who elected to relocate are not being separated. First separations are expected Oct. 19, with all separations completed by Nov. 1. Affected workers are receiving 60 days’ notice, and their terminations will be permanent. The workers are not represented by a union and do not have bumping rights.
The positions listed in the notice span a wide range of corporate functions. They include managers, program and project managers, engineers, application developers, real estate employees and designers. The filing also lists store design and technology positions, including store design leads, store designers, systems analysts, software quality assurance employees and technical product managers.
The latest filing comes about three months after Starbucks submitted a separate WARN notice involving 252 employees tied administratively to its Seattle support center. That May filing included remote employees around the country who reported to managers assigned to the Seattle headquarters. Those separations were expected to begin July 17 and continue through Feb. 1, 2027. Earlier in 2026, Starbucks also announced layoffs affecting 61 employees tied to its Seattle headquarters and support operations.
The reductions are part of broader corporate restructuring under CEO Brian Niccol, as the company expands its corporate presence in Nashville while maintaining its Seattle headquarters. The latest notice was signed by Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief partner officer, and also sent to Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay.
Starbucks emphasized that the restructuring is not intended to change the customer-facing coffeehouse experience. Instead, the company says it is working to improve that experience and return stores to what Starbucks has long called the ‘Third Place’ — a welcoming gathering space outside of home and work. This restructuring is part of Starbucks’ broader effort to reshape operations while focusing on coffeehouses and customer experience under Niccol’s leadership.
