Coffeehouse chain Starbucks announced the closure of 16 stores across the US because of health and safety concerns - and leaked videos of interim CEO Howard Schultz suggest these closures will not be the last.
Initially obtained by Canadian blog, the Post Millennial, the video footage of an internal meeting at Starbucks shows Schultz talking about the issues facing his employees. Schultz concludes that “this is just the beginning” and that there will be “many more” Starbucks store closures to come, including profitable stores.
The major safety concerns Starbucks stores are facing are issues of homelessness, drug use and crime. Schultz states these issues are not things the stores were built for.
He goes on to blame local government leadership for many of the issues and says that Starbucks “are going to have to transform and modernise” to meet the changing needs of customers.
Backlash suggested there were underlying motives to the closures due to the growing union movement spreading across the country. Two of the stores announced to be closed in Seattle had unionsed and one Portland store was supposed to have held a union vote soon.
Starbucks said employees will be transferred to a new store location.
A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed the footage is authentic.
