Starbucks lays off hundreds of WA workers after store closures

After sweeping store closures around the country last month, Starbucks will lay off 369 employees in Washington, according to a state filing.

A notice filed with Washington’s Employment Security Department on Friday shows the Seattle-based coffee giant’s Washington layoffs will be effective Dec. 5.

Closure is the reason for the layoffs, according to the filing.

In Seattle, shuttered locations include the Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill and the Reserve store in Sodo. Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents nearly 12,000 store baristas, tied those two store closures to part of the confirmed layoffs.

The union said Tuesday that the employees of those stores won’t be moved elsewhere and their severance runs through Dec. 5.

Affected workers will be paid for their scheduled shi