AP Top Story Wire
Starbucks said Thursday it's closing hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe and laying off 900 nonretail employees so it can focus resources on its turnaround plan. The Seattle coffee giant wouldn't say exactly how many stores it's closing. But the company expects to end its fiscal year this Sunday with 434 fewer stores in North America than it had at the end of June. Starbucks also said it's closing some stores in the U.K., Austria and Switzerland. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said company is closing stores that don't have a path to financial stability or have physical spaces that don't meet customers' expectations.