Starbucks UK has set out plans to hire 7,500 new baristas over the next five years, in a boost to youth employment as the chain pins its hopes for future growth on the north of the country. The US coffee shop chain, which employs more than 18,000 people in the UK, said the hiring spree would focus on the Midlands, the north of England, Wales and Scotland, as it targets growth north of the M25.
The roles are expected to staff 500 new coffee shops which Starbucks hopes to open across the country by 2031. The company set out the growth plan earlier this year, in March, after shutting dozens of underperforming outlets in Britain last year as part of a 1 billion dollar, 750 million pound, global restructuring. The new hiring marks a turn from cutting back to building again.
Darren King, who runs Starbucks UK as vice president and managing director, said the company is deeply focused on how it can help more young people into the new positions, starting by making entry level roles as accessible as possible. The Guardian reported his comments on 9 November, and the Press Association carried the same announcement. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the investment.
The Starbucks UK plan is part of a wider push to grow outside London, where the chain sees room for hundreds of new shops in towns and suburbs. The Midlands, the north of England, Wales and Scotland are the named regions, and the 500 shops would be spread across them over the next five years. The Starbucks UK hiring would run alongside the openings, with barista roles filled as each new shop takes on staff. The company has not said how many of the roles are full time and how many are part time.
Starbucks UK and the turnaround under Niccol
The Starbucks UK expansion comes during a major turnaround under the company’s boss, Brian Niccol, who took over as chief executive and set about reshaping the chain. The closures last year were part of that work, and the new plan is the other side of it, with money going into new shops in places where the chain sees room to grow. The focus on the north is deliberate, and it is where most of the 500 new shops are expected to open.
The timing is not easy. The announcement comes despite rising labour costs, with the national minimum wage set to increase by 3.9 percent in April. Hiring 7,500 people and opening 500 shops will add to the wage bill at a time when many retailers are watching costs closely. Starbucks is betting that demand in its target regions will carry the cost, and that the new shops will pay for themselves.
Retail has had a hard run in Britain, with costs rising and high streets under pressure, and a pledge of 7,500 jobs stands out against that background. The Starbucks UK announcement is a rare piece of good news for the sector, and it will be judged on the openings, not the announcement. Whether the shops arrive on schedule will depend on planning, staffing and demand in each new location, and the first openings will show whether the bet on the north pays off.
Starbucks UK and the jobs on offer
The Starbucks UK roles are barista jobs, and the company has pitched them as a way into work for young people. Entry level roles that need no prior experience are the starting point for many first jobs, and the chain said it wants those roles to be as open as possible. The 7,500 new jobs would lift its UK workforce by more than 40 percent, from above 18,000 to above 25,000, if all of them are filled.
The plan runs to 2031, which gives the company five years to open the shops and fill the roles. The first openings will show whether the bet on the north pays off, and whether customers in the Midlands, the north of England, Wales and Scotland take to the new shops as Starbucks hopes. For now, the announcement is a rare piece of good news for youth employment, and a sign that the chain’s turnaround has moved from closing shops to opening them.