Starbucks Closing Dozens Of Stores: These PA Locations Doomed

PENNSYLVANIA — Starbucks is closing dozens of stores in the U.S., Europe and Canada as soon as this weekend. Two of those will be in Pennsylvania.

CEO Brian Niccol wrote in a letter to employees Thursday that the closures are necessary to the Seattle coffee giant focuses more of its resources on a turnaround.

Niccol did not identify which locations are shuttering. The company told USA Today that the Starbucks app would be updated on Sunday to reflect which locations will shut down.

Fox 61 in Hartford published a list of the closures based on employees having identified them. Two are in Pennsylvania.

Both are in Pittsburgh:

• 1400 East Carson Street, South Side.

• 3931 Butler Street, Lawrenceville

Starbucks said Thursday that it expects to end its fiscal year with 18,300 stores in North America, down 124 from last year.Niccol, a turnaround specialist who was brought to Starbucks a year ago to give the brand a jolt, said in the letter that a review of Starbucks locations revealed that many are falling short of financial performance targets or are failing to create the environment customers expect.

“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.”

Starbucks said it will offer severance and support packages for affected employees.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.