Starbucks CEO says more store closures are coming as he cites safety concerns and drug use: 'This is just the beginning'

• In leaked footage, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said more stores would close.
• The chain announced 16 store closures in major cities, citing safety issues.

After announcing that 16 Starbucks locations would close because of what the company said were safety concerns, CEO Howard Schultz said in a leaked video that more store closures were coming.

In the footage, Schultz was apparently addressing a group of employees.

He said: "This is just the beginning. There are going to be many more."

Starbucks confirmed the authenticity of the footage to Insider but would not say when or where the video was recorded. The company also didn't detail which other stores could be on the chopping block.

The coffee giant last week announced plans to close 16 locations across Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, as well as in other cities by the end of July, citing "challenging incidents," including drug use and instances of disturbed patrons.

When the closures were announced, a Starbucks spokesperson told Insider the chain was "closing some stores in locations that have experienced a high volume of challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate, to open new locations with safer conditions."

Schultz said he'd heard retail employees express concerns about safety in listening sessions executives have held over the past year, including those related to mental illness, homelessness, and crime.

"We are facing things which the stores were not built for," Schultz said, adding that forced some stores to close despite remaining profitable.

Starbucks union organizers say the chain is targeting some recently unionized stores: The pro-labor publication In These Times reported that two of the 16 stores set for closure in the most recent announcement had recently voted to unionize. Another was set to have a unionization vote in August, the publication added.

"Every decision Starbucks makes must be viewed through the lens of the company's unprecedented and virulent union-busting campaign," Starbucks Workers United, which represents Starbucks workers who have voted to unionize, told Insider in a statement.

Starbucks denied that it was targeting pro-union stores. The company said it gave local leaders the authority to close bathrooms, reduce seating, and take other measures to keep conditions safe for employees and that stores closed when those measures weren't enough to keep customers and workers safe.

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