What are you hearing about Wednesday's layoffs?

Were you pink slipped today? Tell your story here. || READ THE UPDATE: Starbucks tells 1,370 workers that their jobs are being eliminated. || Read the memo from Starbucks human resources. || Jump to the sixth page of comments.

Comments

[sad in ny]

been a week since i was let go.
my dm came in just to lay me off. he said it was because i wasnt working enough hours.

[cactusmush]

On a positive note: I talked to a barista at the Yonge and College store (Tononto- Canada). No layoffs there. His morale is good (and not its not because he's new---he's been there for a while). They have the hiring sign, applications and table out.

[latte28]

I was let go on wednesday, It was a happy day for me, my director Liz treated everybody very badly, and displays none of the values Starbucks is known for. I enjoyed my time at Starbucks but see that things need to change from the top. Starbucks needs to cut the money wasters who do not offer value for money or respect the values the company was founded on. I will miss and feel sorry for the ones left behind who are too afraid to report the abuse and bullying they are subjected to every day.

[ex starbucks]

we got away from basic trapped in bells and whistles..NOW WE PAY THE PRICE

[10years]

Starbucks, is letting go all of the partners they hired from the outside.
I had asm that was let go, but they replace him with asm that was hired from within. They said he cost too much, they replace him with some who make a 1 dollar less, they did not even offer him shift supervisior .

[SttleBarista]

Our District Manager wast just "separated" from the company. We'll find out on Monday what's to happen next. And to think we're the first district with the original store.

[Melody]

Oh my goodness. Wait SttlBarista, I know that DM you're talking about, I think. I always thought he was a pretty nice guy. I've heard stories of him throwing on a green apron and pitching in in a real crunch. Wait. Wait. Wait. He's gone? Please email me at [email protected]. This is quite a surprise to me!

[the dude]

YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT IM HEARING LATELY?

MORE LAYOFFS!

CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE!

NO REALLY! CAN YOU FEEL IT?

[Asher]

@ the dude -- what exactly are you hearing? There's a rumor about SMs and DMs being next...also that there will be SMs overseeing multiple stores. Oddly enough I heard today an SM I know recently quit the company, and her store (which does about 10k per week) is now being overseen by the SM in the next nearest location. The partner I was speaking to had the impression this was a permanent arrangement. Coincidence or a plan in action?

[beanpleaser]

An ASM in my small community was called to meet at McDonalds to get the axe, so sad! She was by far the best partner I ever encountered at any Starbucks!! Shame on you Kara, Karme is a bitch that will leave you lonely! Ali how do you sleep at night?

[Burned]

I was let go a week ago, Mgr said she had too many Shift Supervisors. 3 days later another partner in my old store was promoted to Shift Supervisor....

[FREE]

Good Luck to all the great people who where let go this week! I know I am taking it as a sign of better things to come. Also I won't cringe everytime I hear my phone ring. It was a great ride and I met the most amazing people along the way.

[Stephanie]

wow, just wow. i'm sorry to all of you that were let go. If i were a billionare i would buy you all a drink. I'm just a barista but i put my notice in last week. i'm done tomorrow is my last day. It will be sad but i just cant handle a company who says they have values and then does this! at least the other companies that are laying off etc dont pretend to value there employees they straight up say its just business!

[Exbucks]

Starbucks should lay off the DMs. I know the one in my district is worthless. I can't believe how far this company has fallen. DMs use to care about the employees. Now they are just an expensive liability, that provides no value to the company and should be cut. They rarely show up a the stores under them, and they have the pet store managers do all of their work.

[Up the creek without a paddle]

I was also notified wednesday, The 5 years spent at starbucks were fun even when the work got hard , but 5 years as an external promote to ASM were tough. As a whole everyday was dealing with the anti external feelings. The bias over who gets promoted is great and I am sure it also is there with which ASM's were not fired. Starbucks still has alot of waste to deal with to survive such as the massive amounts spent on merchandising along with all the failed promos such as cd's and warming.
I hope for the best to all those let go with me. I doubt that Howard has any idea of the lives his decision will affect as many are going to be out of work for a long time in this economy. Many of those ASM's are single parents who depended on starbucks for security and many of those kept are single people who live at home with their parents. There was no sound business reason or fairness for those kept only greed and selfishness on the part of the company.

[isthisforreal?]

One of the ASM's I know was let go and she's pregnant. I can't imagine what she's feeling now, knowing that her insurance is being taken away at the end of the month, and who's going to hire her?

[freespeech]

To all ASM's that were laid off. Three weeks severance? I worked in the field as a manager and received six weeks of severance for 2 years 8 months of service. You should be outraged if you got less. You deserve much more!

[Melody]

@SttleBarista - I was just downtown and yeah, M.D. was layed off in this round of layoffs. I don't get it. He always seemed like a heck of a nice guy to me, and as a DM, he at least seemed to genuinely care about his stores. Of course, I only see the customer perspective, but still, this is a surprise.

[Matt]

What is optimal scheduling in detail?

[spilled milk]

@Melody-I belive M.D. wasnt just layed off, theres more to his story then we know. It was paritally his choice. He was with the company for a long time. All the long timers at this point are feeling a loss of the core values, and what Sbux was "supposed" to stand for. I think integrity got the best of him, and may others.

[tcasm]

Despite all of the issues I have had with our company over the years -- how many times I looked at my calloused, dry, cracked hand -- how many times I had to clean feces and urine from our bathroom floors -- how many times my feet throbbed from an unexpected 12 hour shift on my feet -- how many hurried, bluetooth wearing (and babbling) people swear at me because they can't figure out how to twist open the half-and-half carafes -- how many times a shooting pain went up my wrist toward my elbow -- how many times I saw external hires get promoted before me -- the only thing that kept me at Starbucks is the people, the only thing that made me cry when I was laid off last week is the people, the only thing that kept me going is the people. My fellow partners and regulars who are a part of my every day life.

This isn't only a job, but a social network that I am now being kicked out of.

It's hard not to toot my own horn at a time like this, but, as one regular of mine said, "you're the animas of the store -- you give it life -- what'll we do when you're gone?" Well... maybe she went a little far -- but why, why oh why would Starbucks lay off (and not give an option of demotion) to the people who have struggled and clawed their way up from Barista. The people who know all of the regulars' drinks. The people who can talk on the phone to another store, make drinks and mark cups at the same time without a service delay. Those who just know what they are doing?

And to keep us in store for two more weeks... so that we can let all the people we've grown to care about (and who care about us) know that the company they frequent no longer cares about us. Dignity and respect?

Ok, I am done. It is most likely a blessing to be gone, but once again, it's the people who make the difference. And the sick part about that is that we had been taught that ever since Barista 101.

[Erica]

I'm an ASM or at least formerly, from downtown chicago. I was also given a severance packaged for 3 weeks. My DM made it seem that if I told anyone at my store about it before the 25th that my severance would be null and void.After it all happened and I was done being depressed I was actually really relieved mentally I think I was ready. I was done with all the false hopes of getting my own store for a while now and I think stopped caring. I realized that with unemployment,about $400 bi/weekly, I can still afford my and pay my basic bills I just can't spend on anything else. So to all though who got a pink slip recently take it like a blessing in disguise. It's time for us to go out and find our true passion out there.

[shirley]

they targeted blacks and latinos during the lay offs on the 11th. they want to keep the company white..especially the SSC

[GotAxedinRound3]

@Shirley - That is totally wrong. Do better research.

[tallgrandeventi]

I realize there are a lot of people hurting in the Starbucks world right now, but it's not fair to blame Howard or anyone at Starbucks for all of these problems. Have you watched the news at all recently? If you had, you would have seen the hundreds of thousands of American's who have lost jobs over the past 6 months? I know you're angry now and I understand that, but we need to look at the big picture. Our country and the world in general, is in desperate shape right now and we need to face the fact that life as we all knew it during the past 20-30 years will be changing.

Perhaps the best thing we can all do, is look to our grandparents as an example of what you should do. Lessons they learned from the great depression, would serve us well now. Use only what you need, save money where you can and love those around you. We will get through this new "depression" just as our grandparents did, but it will not be easy.

The first step to getting through this, is to accept the way things are and stop trying to place blame. Then we can begin to take responsibility for ourselves and dust off our pants and get on with our lives. Life isn't always fair, it is what it is. Take care everyone.

[Taking the Summer Off C/O SBUX!]

Was let go a month ago for a bogus reason,a few days before the first round of layoffs but was given a nice bonus check. Now I'm just waiting for summer. In my state, there is 6 months of UEI, then an extra 33 weeks.

[thomas]

I can relate to Shirley's post b/c most of the stores closed over the last year were in black or hispanic neighborhoods - hence the partners at those stores were black/hispanic...therefore, laid off.

i'm not sure about the SSC, but i hardly saw any hispanics or blacks there.

[1/2caffed]

I’m a SoCal ASM on FMLA (just had a baby), and I was called today by my new DM, whom I’ve never met, that I have the choice of a demotion or layoff. This can’t be legal!? Pretty pissed! Another thing, why are we all being told that we have to make a decision in a few days when the letter clearly gives an alternate day? I have a great track record with Sbux and I know that I would have been saved had I not been on leave.

[JD]

Sadly, California (and most states) are hire and fire at will. Meaning, they can fire you, or lay you off, for any reason they see fit as long as it isn't state or federally protected...such as being fired for being black or muslim or something like that.

[jobseeker]

Employment in California is at will, but if a company fires a worker without cause in order to avoid unemployment costs the worker can appeal the firing to the state EDD. The worker probably won't get his or her job back, but may still qualify for unemployment compensation.

[Sure]

From what I understand, it was 95% of the ASMs that were laid off, with no official plans to eliminate the role entirely.
I used to be an ASM at a $35K/wk store and I quit the company last year. I would have assuredly lost my job this month. Interestingly, my former store is keeping one of its two ASMs.
There is really no rhyme or reason in the selection of ASMs to get cut; at least in my area it seemed pretty indiscriminate (unless you include the ASM who was brought back from disability only to be fired the next day). I've also heard of other ASMs being "replaced" by God knows who, leading me to believe that it was mostly at the discretion of the DM. If you didn't get along with your DM, regardless of your reviews, you probably lost your job.
I haven't talked to a single store manager who thinks these layoffs were justified, and I also have yet to encounter a SM who feels safe in their own position.

[Barrs]

Right now, I think an SM is the "safest" thing to be. Higher and lower, worry and fear.

[The External One]

tommorow i have to optimize my schedule...what the heck...and here is the news for all you SM's out there...if your not compliant by March 31st..they are coming for you..there is a lot of shady deals going on now....baristas and shifts are being let go under the guise of scheduling....gone are the old days starbucks is a job not a stop by place to recieve mark outs and discounts...we are a corporation now and its time to take off our rosy glassess

[de]

wow im an ex-partner what is going on? is all of this happening in Orange County CA also? is it going to happen to those guys that do the partner safety and asset protection also?

[Margo]

I'm in Chicago and I was let go. I'm a barista with a tough schedule, as I am in school. I'm only in chicago for six more weeks and need a job but I'm not sure where to transfer. I could transfer home and work here or just try to get a store here. Who knows. Good luck to all.

[bloodhungry.]

Did any ASMs not accept the severance? If anyone was ever bullied into not clocking their overtime hours, we could probably make a case for quite a bit of money in damages....

personally, with the bad economy, I know that I worked as many hours as necessary to make sure my job was secure, but that was all in vain. Now that I'm laid off there's really no reason not to sue :-)

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/workersrights/rightsatwork_e/overtime.cfm

[peterbean]

I was fired about a week ago, after being told by all my shif leads, and manager how great i was doing. This is in Southen California, by the way. I was fired for being short just a few cents over the maximum(5.00). I dont know what to think