In 2022, Starbucks has gotten plenty of press for actions the company said were taken to ensure the safety of both employees and customers. In July, Starbucks announced the closure of 16 U.S. locations due to overwhelming safety concerns, and the company said it would close additional stores if safety problems were unable to be resolved. While Starbucks said employees would be offered the option to relocate to other, presumably safer locations, not everyone believes the company is being transparent in its justification for closing certain locations.