Coffee Crisis? Starbucks Closing 600 Stores

Starbucks also said it would open 200 fewer stores than expected in 2009. These changes are in addition to the plans to eliminate breakfast sandwiches, as the company re-focuses coffee, offering a new, smoother blend – Pike Place Roast – in every store, and grinding and brewing fresh batches of coffee more frequently throughout the day.

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At the end of March, there were more than 16,226 Starbucks stores globally and 11,434 in the U.S.

The store closings will result in full and part-time jobs being eliminated, though the company says many employees will be placed in stores that remain open. Earlier this year, Starbucks announced it would cut its workforce by 600 jobs.