Starbucks is laying off an undisclosed number of workers this week at its customer service center in Seattle, which answers calls and correspondence to Starbucks from all over the world.

A "small number" of the center's roughly 120 employees will lose their jobs, said spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams. The laid-off workers will be offered severance pay and outplacement services.

The company has not decided whether to outsource its customer service functions, she said.
CEO Howard Schultz said in March that he didn't expect more layoffs at the company, which has cut about 18,400 U.S. jobs since early 2008 (my math is here), including hundreds in Seattle and thousands more at stores that it's closing around the country. The chain still has about 3,000 headquarters employees in Seattle.

Regarding Schultz's comment about no further layoffs, Kim-Williams said "in the ever-changing business environment today, it's difficult to predict what will happen in the future."

The Oregonian reported on Monday that Starbucks' Tazo Tea business might move to Seattle when its lease ends next year in Portland, which would affect about 80 jobs there. In a written statement, Starbucks said it hasn't reached a decision about that.

The store closures and layoffs are part of Starbucks' effort to revive its sales and profit, which have suffered in a recession that's been particularly brutal to retailers.

In its most recent quarter, the coffee giant's profit fell 77 percent to $25 million and sales dropped 8 percent to $2.3 billion.

In spring of 2008, before Starbucks felt the full impact of the recession, it planned to open about 1,450 new stores in 2009. Now it is closing stores faster than it's opening them, and the cost of closures, layoffs and lower real estate values took a $152 million bite out of the company's second-quarter profit.

Its shares fell 10 cents on Tuesday to $14.82. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $7.06 and $18.56.