Starbucks to create 2,000 Tennessee jobs
- Starbucks announced a $100 million investment expanding operations in Tennessee, choosing the state over Washington. - Company says expansion will add roughly 2,000 jobs statewide, shifting significant tax revenue away from Seattle. - Local officials say the boost could spur regional hiring and supplier opportunities, while Seattle faces revenue losses. (foxbusiness.com)
Starbucks said April 21 it will spend $100 million on a new Southeast corporate office in Nashville and add up to 2,000 jobs. (investor.starbucks.com) The company said the Nashville office will support coffeehouse expansion and rising customer demand in the southeastern United States while working with Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters. Tennessee officials said the hiring will happen over the next several years. (investor.starbucks.com; tnecd.com) Starbucks framed the move as part of its broader North America growth push, which it previewed in March and expanded on at its January 29 investor day. The company told investors it is targeting more than 2,000 net new stores across its global company-operated and licensed portfolio, including about 400 net new U.S. company-operated stores. (investor.starbucks.com; investor.starbucks.com) Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ chairman and chief executive officer, said Nashville gives the company access to talent and puts it closer to its growing base of coffeehouses and suppliers across the Southeast. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the state’s pitch centered on its business climate and workforce. (investor.starbucks.com; tnecd.com) In Seattle, the announcement quickly turned into a debate about what Washington loses when a hometown company expands elsewhere. FOX 13 Seattle reported estimates that Washington could forgo as much as $750 million in tax revenue in the coming years if those jobs and related activity land in Tennessee instead. (fox13seattle.com) FOX 13 reported Starbucks expects the Nashville offices to be operating by 2027 and to add 2,000 jobs over five years. The station also cited Puget Sound Business Journal reporting that the average salary for those jobs is about $125,000 a year. (fox13seattle.com) Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said the company is not leaving Seattle and said the Nashville project had been in the works for a long time. Starbucks, in its announcement, also described Nashville as an added corporate hub that will work closely with its global headquarters in Seattle. (fox13seattle.com; investor.starbucks.com) For Nashville, the project adds one of the city’s larger recent white-collar job commitments and gives Tennessee another high-profile corporate recruitment win. For Starbucks, it puts a second major office closer to the region where it says store growth and customer demand are rising fastest. (fox13seattle.com; investor.starbucks.com)
