Coffee chain Starbucks plans to shut 500 stores in the US on top of the 100 closures it had already announced. Up to 12,000 full and part-time jobs will go, although Starbucks will try to move staff into other stores. While it is closing underperforming stores, the company is still opening new US outlets, although it is cutting back from 250 to 200 next year.
Starbucks opened many stores in areas which have since been hard-hit by the housing slump such as Florida. About 70% of the outlets scheduled to be closed have only been open since 2006. The company has been hard-hit by US consumers feeling the pinch and cutting back on their spending on expensive coffee.
It is disrupting the lives of the people who have worked so hard to deliver superior service to our customers, says Howard Schultz, Starbucks chief executive.
"Everything seems to be heading for the worst. It is very important for the younger generations to be very careful with their choices and decisions for the right college and right field of studies or they will regret it later."
