Filing shows Starbucks’ recent job cuts will impact 61 tech jobs at Seattle HQ

A new filing with Washington state shows that Starbucks’ recent job cuts will impact 61 tech jobs at its Seattle headquarters. The Seattle Times first reported on this round of layoffs in April, citing an internal message that did not include the number of roles, their location or specific job titles.

The layoffs are the result of “a reorganization of the technology department at the Starbucks Support Center,” the letter states. The cuts take effect between June 20 and Aug. 28.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter states that the affected roles include cybersecurity analyst, technical product manager, systems analyst, systems administrator, scrum master and architect. Employees at the director and manager levels are among those being let go.

The restructuring comes as Starbucks pushes ahead with a broader turnaround under CEO Brian Niccol, who joined in 2024 and has pushed a series of technology initiatives — from an AI-powered drink-ordering assistant to an algorithm that manages mobile order timing.

The tech department shake-up also follows the hiring of Anand Varadarajan as chief technology officer in January. He joined the coffee company after 19 years at Amazon, where he most recently led technology and supply chain for its global grocery business.

In a September filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Starbucks warned that it needed to keep improving its marketing, data analytics and AI tools or risk losing consumer interest and market share.

The tech sector has seen a wave of layoffs in recent months, including cuts in the Pacific Northwest impacting Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Expedia Group, T-Mobile, Oracle, Zillow and others. Companies generally frame the cuts as a mix of post-pandemic restructuring, tighter cost discipline, and a shift of resources toward AI and other strategic priorities.

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