(The Center Square) – Starbucks is closing five stores in Seattle in the latest round of shuttered coffee shops, according to a file submitted to Washington state officials.
The new shutdowns come after the company closed 30 stores in Washington State in 2025, including 10 in Seattle, as part of a 1% reduction in Starbucks stores nationwide aimed at rooting out underperforming locations.
Starbucks said in its new filing with the Washington Department of Employment Security that 69 employees will lose their jobs when the stores close in early April.
The first Starbucks was founded in Seattle in 1971, and the company still maintains its corporate headquarters in the city.
In early March, the company announced it was opening an operations center in Nashville, but characterized it as an expansion to support a growing store network in the Southeast rather than a dilution of the Seattle corporate headquarters.
Around 3,000 workers are based at the Seattle headquarters.
However, Starbucks has confirmed that some jobs in Seattle will be moved to Nashville without disclosing the number.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that “dozens” of supply-chain employees will relocate from the company’s Seattle headquarters to the new location.
Starbucks would not say why it picked the five new stores to close, but said profitability is a factor in determining its store lineup.
Starbucks spokeswoman Jacki Anderson wrote in an email to The Center Square that Starbucks regularly reviews how its coffeehouses serve their neighborhoods and meet customers’ needs.
“Sometimes that means investing in updates or trying new formats,” she said. “Other times, it means making the difficult decision to close a location that no longer fits how people in that community live, work, or gather.”
The five locations closing are in the University District, First Hill, the Seattle Center Armory, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and the downtown office building, the Metropolitan East Building.
Four of the five locations are unionized.
In a statement, the baristas’ union, Starbucks Workers United, criticized Starbucks leadership and said it has filed an unfair labor practice charge over the closures.
“Starbucks continues to fail its hometown,” the union said in the statement. “After laying off thousands of corporate employees, opening a new office in Nashville, and closing its flagship stores, CEO Brian Niccol is yet again upending the lives of employees and disrupting customers with no notice or justification.”
Last year, the company implemented a significant workforce reduction, laying off 974 employees across Seattle and Kent. This group included both retail and non-retail staff members.
Store closures across Washington affected an additional 369 retail workers.
These reductions followed a separate, larger-scale contraction in February 2025. During that period, the organization laid off 1,100 corporate employees, including 612 in Seattle.
