Starbucks opening first big corporate office in India, will hire for tech roles
Starbucks plans to open its first corporate office in India in fiscal 2027, focused on technology roles. The move is reportedly part of the company's broader effort to cut costs, reduce reliance on external vendors and bring more work in-house.
Starbucks is preparing to open its first major corporate office in India, with the company set to hire for technology-focused roles as part of a wider global restructuring and cost-cutting push. The upcoming office is expected to begin operations in Starbucks’ fiscal year 2027, starting in October 2026.
The new India office will primarily focus on technology operations and engineering-related work. Starbucks is expected to begin hiring once it finalises a location later this year.
In an internal message seen by Bloomberg, Starbucks Chief Technology Officer Anand Varadarajan reportedly told employees that the company is working towards “reducing reliance on external service providers”. He said creating a multi-site technology structure would help Starbucks build stronger collaboration between teams while also giving the company more direct control over its technology operations.
Varadarajan has previously argued that relying heavily on external technology vendors increases costs because contractors charge additional mark-ups. By hiring directly and managing more of its own technology teams internally, Starbucks hopes to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
According to the report, India have emerged as a natural choice for this expansion because Starbucks already works with several technology partners in the country. The company also sees India as a strong talent hub for software engineering, cloud infrastructure, digital platforms and enterprise technology roles. While Starbucks has not officially announced which city will host the office, the company is expected to finalise the location sometime later this year before beginning recruitment.
The planned India office comes during a period of significant organisational change at Starbucks under CEO Brian Niccol. The company is currently pursuing a broader strategy aimed at cutting around $2 billion in costs globally. As part of that effort, Starbucks has been restructuring multiple business units, reducing headcount and relocating some teams.
Layoffs at Starbucks
There were earlier reports that Starbucks plans to shift around 270 technology roles, representing nearly 20 per cent of its tech workforce, to a new office in Nashville in the United States. At the same time, the company has also laid off technology employees as part of the restructuring exercise.
More broadly, Starbucks has cut more than 2,000 jobs since February last year, including another 300 corporate positions this week. The company’s push to build internal technology capabilities while reducing vendor dependence is seen as part of its larger effort to simplify operations and lower long-term costs.
In India, Starbucks currently operates through Tata Starbucks, its joint venture with Tata Consumer Products. The partnership manages Starbucks cafs across multiple Indian cities. However the upcoming technology hub will represent Starbucks’ first standalone corporate office in the country.