Starbucks closes 16 locations due to workers’ safety concerns
The closures involve six locations in Los Angeles, six in and around Seattle, two in Portland, Oregon, one in Philadelphia and the Union Station store in Washington, DC.
Although the spokeswoman declined to specify individual incidents that led to the closures, Starbucks executives acknowledged on Monday that workers have encountered a flood of problems, some related to drug use, mental health and racism in the neighborhoods they serve.
“You… see firsthand the challenges our communities face – personal security, racism, lack of access to health care, a growing mental health crisis, increasing drug use and more,” wrote Debbie Stroud and Denise Nelson, both senior vice presidents of US operations, in a letter to employees. “We know that these challenges can sometimes play out in our stores as well. We read every incident report you submit – it’s a lot.”
They wrote that the company could take steps such as closing bathrooms – which are usually open to the public – or closing shops completely. Employees who are affected will have the opportunity to be transferred to nearby locations, the spokeswoman said.
It is not uncommon for Starbucks to close – and open – locations, although the reason for closing such a large number seems new to the company. According to its latest annual report, Starbucks operates 8,941 stores in the United States. It closed 424 locations in the last financial year, although it opened 449 and moved 19 stores in the same time frame.
Two of the places marked for closure, in Seattle, are among those that have recently been unionized. Another of the 16, one of the Portland stores, had requested a union vote. The pressure to unionize Starbucks workers, which has so far been used in 133 stores, began last year in Buffalo, as part of a resumed interest in organizing workers across a range of industries.
While competing for workers, Starbucks has recently embarked on what CEO Howard Shultz described as a “significant reinvention” of the company, although it is not yet clear what such a refurbishment will look like. “We need to modernize and transform the Starbucks experience in our stores and recreate an environment that is relevant, inviting and safe,” he wrote in a letter to workers Monday.
