Eliyahu Gasson | editor-in-chief

Junior Duquesne student Alayna George got a call from her district manager as she was coming out of class on Thursday. She was told that Starbucks in the South Side, where she had been working at since August, would be closing on Saturday.

“It was honestly kind of unclear as to why,” she said.

George went into her last shift on Friday. She said her last day on the job was sad for her and her fellow workers.

“It might not sound like it’s a big deal, but it is kind of a bummer when you don’t get to see the people that you look forward to seeing every day,” she said.

The news came as part of a nationwide “Back to Starbucks” campaign, which company CEO Brian Niccol said is meant to provide an “elevated Starbucks experience for every customer” in a Sept. 25 news release.

“During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” the news release read.

The news release said union status of stores was not a consideration when deciding which stores to close.

Starbucks closed around 1% of their North American stores in fiscal year 2025. It went on to explain that they plan on redesigning roughly 1,000 of their 18,300 stores on the continent.

Many employees weren’t notified of the closures until two or three days prior, said Cas Borowitz, a Workers United staff organizer and barista at Starbucks’ store at the University of Pittsburgh.

“I don’t think the general public realizes, especially if they have not been through it themselves, how traumatizing being laid off can be, and how scary it can be not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from,” Borowitz said.

George said she worked at the Starbucks in the Student Union her first year at Duquesne, but she moved stores because the hours were not compatible with her schedule.

Since the weekend, she’s applied to other jobs but said she hasn’t had any luck so far.

“None of the other coffee shops I’ve applied to have gotten back to me ‘cause it’s such short notice,” she said.

George said she was told she would be placed at another Starbucks location by the end of the week. As of publication, she has not been notified if she will be moved to another store.

Starbucks was not able to comment on this issue by time of publication.

General Manager of Parkhurst Dining Tara Jacobson said the Starbucks store in the Union is not affected by the nationwide changes and will remain open.

Eliyahu Gasson can be reached at gassone@duq.edu