Starbucks announces mass layoffs of more than 1,000 workers as problems for chain mount up

Starbucks has announced huge cuts to its corporate workforce as part of its turnaround plans. 

The coffee chain's new CEO Brian Niccol announced on Monday that 1,100 employees would be laid off and hundreds of open positions would not be filled. 

Niccol said the mass layoffs are 'necessary' to remove duplicate jobs and increase focus.

'We believe it's a necessary change to position Starbucks for future success,' Niccol said in a statement. 

Starbucks has around 16,000 corporate employees who work on the business outside the day to day running of cafes. Store workers such as baristas will not be affected. 

The brutal cuts are among the largest in the chain's history, having cut five percent of its workforce, around 350 people, in 2018. 

Despite Niccol's turnaround plans Starbuck's still reported its fourth consecutive quarter of declines, with sales down 4 percent in the quarter ending in December. 

The chain has suffered after customers grew tired of years of price hikes, long lines and poor service.