Starbucks sheds jobs and closes stores

Starbucks Corp plans to slash nearly 7,000 more jobs during a new round of store closures and other cuts, the company said as it reported that its profit dropped by more than two thirds in its fiscal first quarter.

The gourmet coffee chain plans to close 300 underperforming stores around the world – including 200 in the US – by the end of the fiscal year in addition to the 600 US stores it began closing this summer.