Starbucks closures in B.C. shock staff and customers

At least 12 Starbucks locations were closed around B.C. over the weekend, leaving staff and customers shocked by some of the closures.

Global News has confirmed at least 12 locations, from Victoria to Revelstoke, have shuttered since Saturday.

Starbucks confirmed last Thursday that the company will be laying off around 900 non-retail employees in the U.S. and Canada.

“Quite often, what happens is employers make the decision, well, you know what we would rather terminate and provide money than provide working notice,” Dan Balkaran, an employment lawyer with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

Starbucks offers its partners a weekly mark-out or a free pound of coffee, plus a 30 per cent discount on food, drinks, and merchandise.

Those perks continue for life if you retire from the company at a minimum age of 55 with at least 10 years of continuous service, according to a long-time barista who lost their job and says they will also lose their nearly eight years of service if they are rehired at another Starbucks.

“They may have specific business reasons, financial constraints, who knows,” Balkaran said.

“If they’re closing stores, it’s not surprising that other cost savings are occurring.”

On Thursday, employees of the Starbucks stores impacted were given two days’ notice of the closures.

While businesses have a legal requirement to provide working notice, employment lawyer Dan Balkaran said more than 90 per cent of the time, employers choose to terminate staff and pay compensation in the form of severance.

“Quite often, what happens is employers make the decision, well, you know what we would rather terminate and provide money than provide working notice,” said Balkaran, a partner with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

Starbucks Canada did not respond to a request for comment from Global News.

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A review of Starbucks locations revealed that many are falling short of financial performance targets or are failing to create the environment customers expect, according to a letter sent by Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol last Thursday.

“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” Niccol wrote. “This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners and customers. Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult.”

B.C. retail expert David Ian Gray says underperforming stores are being eliminated, with other locations added or renovated, in an effort to bring back Starbucks’ brand as a community space between home and work.

“They want locations that are back to the roots of being a place you want to hang out, the third place was their grand mantra in the past, as opposed to transactionally order up a coffee, pick it up, and go,” Gray, who is an instructor at Capilano University School of Business, said.

“In urban settings, they probably overexpanded and they got into some places where they’re really not making money in those locations.”

It is not known if more stores in B.C. could close.

-with files from The Associated Press

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