Starbucks has made the decision to close stores in a number of cities and towns around the country.
The coffee giant decided to close the locations after a rise in incidents and new efforts to protect worker safety.
According to a Starbucks spokesman, these concerns include mental health, substance abuse, and prolonged homelessness have been exacerbated by Covid-19.
The Hill reports that several of the businesses that went out of business were ones that had been attempting to form labour unions.
"We consider many factors when opening and closing stores; and we apply the same focus on safety to unionized and non-union stores alike," Starbucks claimed.
Regardless, Starbucks closed 16 stores in July. This includes the following stores:
Starbucks locations that have closed
1. Six in Los Angeles, California2. Six in Starbucks' hometown of Seattle, Washington3. Two in Portland, Oregon4. One in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania5. One in Washington, DC:
Furthermore, the spokesman stated that it has closed or will shutdown a dozen additional outlets in other cities and states.
Despite a difficult epidemic that saw Starbucks and many other retailers suffer, the coffee giant shows no signs of slowing down.
The chain said at the end of last year that it planned to establish 2,000 new outlets by 2022.