(The Center Square) - Starbucks says it's not abandoning Seattle, but more corporate employees will be moving to a new regional headquarters in Nashville.
Starbucks officials disclosed Tuesday that a new regional office in Nashville will employ 2,000 people within five years, including additional Starbucks employees who are now based in Seattle.
Starbucks announced in March that it would be moving sourcing teams that manage global and North American procurement operations from Seattle to Nashville.
Tuesday’s announcement to employees said information technology teams will also be moved from Seattle to the new regional headquarters.
Starbucks employs around 3,000 employees at its Seattle corporate headquarters and has not said how many employees will be affected.
The company shed around 1,000 corporate jobs in Seattle last year.
“The Nashville office will be a complement to our global and North America headquarters in Seattle, where we will maintain a large presence," said Sara Kelly, Starbucks chief partner officer, in a letter to employees.
Kelly said the Nashville workforce will include hiring new employees, moving some contract workers and professional service providers to full-time roles and relocating select teams from Seattle to Nashville.
“These select Starbucks Technology (ST) teams were told today that they would be moving to Nashville, while others will remain in Seattle,” the letter by Kelly went on to say.
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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who was hired in 2024 as part of efforts to reboot Starbucks' lackluster sales and profits, also spoke at a Nashville press conference on Tuesday.
He did not give any more information on job losses in Seattle, stating that the Nashville headquarters will anchor Starbucks plans to open more stores in the eastern part of the county.’
He also praised the business climate in Nashville, but didn’t mention concerns echoed by Seattle business leaders about the city's increasing taxes on businesses and the wealthy.
His remarks did include Seattle, where Starbucks was founded in 1971.
“Its really exciting for us to be here,” he told the Nashville audience. “The other thing that is really exciting for us is to have the global headquarters in Seattle and then have this headquarters here in Nashville.’
The announcement of a large regional headquarters for Starbucks in Nashville and more Seattle job losses comes as business leaders have said local Seattle taxes are causing job reductions in the city.
Jon Scholes, the president and CEO of the Seattle Downtown Association, put out a press release after the Starbucks announcement saying that the coffee chain has an ‘indelible impact” on Seattle’s identity and economy.
“Seattle is operating in a competitive landscape with cities vying for employers and jobs, and we must do everything we can to ensure companies locate and grow here,” he said.
Scholes said that over the last three years, Seattle has shed thousands of jobs while other cities in the region and across the country have experienced job growth.
“City leaders must accept this reality and commit to a more competitive and welcoming approach to further economic opportunity and prosperity, “ he said.
Seattle imposes three separate local taxes on businesses, and newly elected Mayor Katie Wilson has said she is studying other "progressive ways" to raise taxes, without providing specifics.
