Starbucks cuts corporate roles in London and Hong Kong, shifts control abroad

Starbucks cut about 120 corporate roles in London and about 60 in Hong Kong as it continues trimming layers between headquarters and local markets. The offices sit at the center of two big regions, with Hong Kong overseeing Asia-Pacific markets outside China and Japan, and London serving as a hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The cuts fit a wider reset that Starbucks has been building since early 2026. On March 3, the company said it was introducing a new UK licensee model and described licensed stores as already making up the majority of its UK estate. Starbucks said that setup was meant to create clearer, more collaborative ways of working, smarter portfolio planning and faster innovation, language that points to more authority moving closer to markets and away from large regional staffs.

That theme was already visible in September 2025, when Starbucks said its support organization had too many layers and too much duplication. The company warned then that job eliminations and smaller support teams would follow, while saying the changes would not affect in-store teams or store hours. For baristas, shift supervisors and store managers, that distinction matters: the company is cutting back-office capacity even as it says the front line will stay protected.

The broader business makes that shift easier to see. Starbucks said in its fiscal 2025 annual report that it operated in 89 markets and ended the year with 40,990 stores, including 21,514 company-operated locations and 19,476 licensed stores. International revenue rose 7% year over year. At the January 29 Investor Day, Brian Niccol told employees the company was back and framed the turnaround around coffee, craft, connection and the coffeehouse experience.

For store workers, the question is not whether Starbucks is shrinking its corporate footprint abroad, but what replaces it. A leaner support structure can mean faster approvals and less bureaucracy when a market needs to move. It can also mean fewer people to escalate to when scheduling, training, supply issues or local problem-solving go sideways. Starbucks says it wants more ownership and accountability. The June 19 cuts show that the company is still deciding how much of that responsibility will sit in Seattle, how much will sit with licensees, and how much will land closer to the stores.