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For years, Starbucks has been circling the "go woke, go broke" drain, and they've been trying to reverse course: ending their open bathrooms policy, going back to plastic straws, and even reportedly disallowing pride decorations. They've tried everything short of not burning their beans or lowering the price of their drinks to lure back the other half of the country they spurned and have only managed to upset the folks still going to Starbucks. Now according to CNN, Starbucks has announced massive layoffs and store closures. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol announced Thursday that Starbucks will close hundreds of stores this...

Hundreds of Starbucks baristas across the country have been left without jobs, following the coffeehouse’s recently announced decision to close 1% of its stores — roughly 400, in total — in North America this month. The move to shutter these locations, according to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, is part of a larger $1 billion restructuring plan. The coffee chain will also be laying off 900 corporate employees as a result. “Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations. This is a more significant action that we understand will impact partners...

Kroger employee terminated after admitting to writing message, Starbucks calls act 'unacceptable' An Ohio woman ordered Charlie Kirk’s go-to Starbucks drink on Sunday evening — and was startled to find a hateful message written on the cup. Autumn Perkins, who lives in Middletown, Ohio, visited a Starbucks location inside Kroger and run by Kroger to order the mint majesty with two honeys. When she received her order, she was shocked to see that an employee had written "racist’s fav drink" on the side of the cup. "It's time for people to stop this nonsense," Perkins told Fox News Digital. After...

The Café Grumpy owner apologized and said employee's actions violated company policyA New Jersey man says he was denied service and insulted by a barista at a New York City coffee shop after walking in wearing a MAGA hat on the morning of Sept. 11. Anthony Pullis, 31, stopped at New York City coffee chain Café Grumpy in the Financial District on his way to the 9/11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero. He wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat, along with a photo of his late father, Edward Pullis, pinned to his shirt pocket. His father worked in...

... The employees, who are backed by the union organizing Starbucks' workers, filed class-action lawsuits in state court in Illinois and Colorado. Workers also filed complaints with California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. If the agency decides not to seek penalties against Starbucks, the workers intend to file a class-action lawsuit in California, according to the complaints. ... “As part of this change, and to ensure out partners were prepared, partners received two shirts at no cost,” the company said Wednesday. Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners.” Starbucks’ new dress code went into effect on May 12. It requires...

As a macchiato devotee for many years, I have a few ideas on what a true version of the drink should be. It's one of those espresso drinks that's often misunderstood, even amongst Starbucks baristas. Depending on location, there's about a 50/50 chance of having to very politely request a re-do. The first thing to realize is that an authentic Italian macchiato consists of merely 2 espresso shots "marked" with a dash of frothy milk -- thus the name "macchiato," which means "marked" or "stained" in Italian. There's no caramel in the equation… But Starbucks has its own interpretations of...

Hundreds of Starbucks baristas have walked out of stores in protest of a new dress code policy, which the union, Starbucks Workers United, claims was implemented without proper bargaining. Yes FReepers you read that correctly...A DRESS CODE.

Cult coffee chain Starbucks has sparked uproar among Gen Z workers after drastically changing their uniform. In a video posted to X, Starbucks union workers in Seattle can be seen marching on management in response to the new dress code. The clip was captioned, “Starbucks workers across the country are facing understaffing, inaccessible benefits, discrimination, and low wages. “Instead of fixing these issues, Starbucks decided to introduce an unpopular, more conservative dress code.” A barista wearing a bandana and a party hat can be seen addressing management, saying, “I don’t understand how [the dress code] is in good faith of...

America should not run on fast food. A recent ranking from Eat This, Not That shared the least healthy menu items — ranked from bad to worst — from some of your favorite fast food chains that you should steer clear of. Some honorable mentions include the fried rice side from Panda Express and the bacon, sausage egg wrap from Starbucks. KFC’s Nashville hot loaded fries bowl, the cobb salad from Chick-fil-A, and the beast sub from Subway also made an appearance on this unhealthy list. The sausage patty breakfast crunchwrap from Taco Bell is another bad option. Avoid the...

Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally as new Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol streamlines operations. In a letter to employees released Monday, Niccol said the company will inform employees who are being laid off by mid-day Tuesday. Niccol said Starbucks is also eliminating several hundred open and unfilled positions. "Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration," Niccol wrote in the letter.

Woke is dying and you love to see it. Global coffee chain Starbucks announced that, after nearly seven years, it would be ending its "open door" policy and instead require visitors to make purchases if they want to remain in the stores or use the bathrooms. From CBS News: The new rules reverse an open-door policy put in place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business meeting. The incident at that individual store, which had a policy of asking non-paying customers to leave, was caught on video and...

Starbucks is reversing its open-door policy after almost seven years, now requiring that people make a purchase if they want to hang out at its coffee shops or use its restrooms. The coffee giant said on Monday that a new code of conduct – which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores – will also ban discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping, drug use and panhandling. The new rules reverse an open-door policy put in place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business...

Costco Wholesale faces an upcoming proxy battle brought by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), challenging its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program. ... Asking Costco to objectively and rigorously study the risks associated with its DEI policies and practices is compelling. NCPPR’s proposal cites the $25.6 million judgment against Starbucks after a Federal Court found race discrimination played a part in the firing of a white former Starbucks regional manager. Given Costco’s reporting on the makeup of its 310,000 employee base, NCPPR figures it has at least 200,000 employees who might claim illegal discrimination because they are...

Starbucks' early 2025 menu has been leaked online, and it appears big changes are ahead at the coffee chain. Called the "winter part two menu," it comes after Starbucks holiday menu was released in November with the likes of Cran-Merry Orange Refresher and a Turkey Sage Danish. The winter part two menu will allegedly drop on January 2, but food blogger @Markie_Devo got their hands on some major details ahead of time. Among the new options, there will be a revamped formula for matcha lattes. The new matcha powder will be completely unsweetened, rather than containing sugar as it has...

The union representing Starbucks baristas said on Tuesday that a strike against the java giant has expanded to more than 300 locations — with about 10,000 coffeehouse workers walking off the job on Christmas Eve. Baristas in more than 50 cities including New York, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago have walked the picket line since Friday demanding better wages and work conditions. The extent to which the work stoppage has damaged Starbucks business is unclear. According to company filings cited by the New York Times, a typical company-owned Starbucks location in the United States generates anywhere...

The man wanted for fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Wednesday morning was spotted inside a nearby Starbucks before killing his target, police said. The NYPD released a new photo of the hooded suspect standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks at W. 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes away from the Hilton hotel where he gunned down Thompson, 50. It was not immediately clear how long the gunman, who has yet to be identified, was at the Starbucks or if he purchased anything. Officials said that after firing at Thompson multiple times, with bullets...

Do you have a dairy allergy or prefer to consume dairy-free alternatives? Depending on where you stop for coffee and specialty drinks, ordering a beverage with milk alternatives can be much more expensive. And every extra cent you pay impacts your checking account balance.

These beverages are being booted. Starbucks’ olive oil-infused drinks are being nixed just a year after being added to the menu as the company’s new CEO looks to streamline service. Oleato products will be permanently removed from the core menu starting Nov. 7, when the Starbucks’ holiday drinks launch, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The memo said that Starbucks is “saying goodbye to Starbucks Oleato beverages and toffee nut syrup.” New CEO Brian Niccol, who took over the chain Sept. 9, noted that one of his priorities to accelerate growth at the company is to simplify the...

Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol has a stern message for his employees, and many may not be too thrilled about it. As companies across the country are starting to cut back on remote work, with some even forcing employees to return to working in the office five days a week, Niccol revealed in his first staff address as Starbucks CEO that there is “power in having everybody together,” according to a new report from Bloomberg. “My point of view is we should be together as much as possible,” said Niccol in his address. “You need to figure out where you...

National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge Geoffrey Carter ordered Starbucks to reopen “within a reasonable period of time” two Ithaca locations that closed after employees formed a union, stating that its move to “chill unionism” violated the National Labor Relations Act. Carter ruled on Friday that the May 2023 permanent closures of the Ithaca Commons and Meadow Street Starbucks locations and failure to bargain with the union were unlawful, as the board found the stores were closed for “antiunion reasons” and in an effort to quell unionizations elsewhere. The NLRB similarly ordered on July 6, 2023, that the third...