Starbucks’ chief technology officer Deb Hall Lefevre has resigned, leaving the coffee chain without a permanent successor while it presses on with a technology overhaul and a broader corporate restructuring, according to internal communications reported by Reuters and trade media.

In a memo to corporate staff, chief financial officer Cathy Smith said Ningyu Chen, previously senior vice-president of global experience technology, has been appointed interim chief technology officer. Smith added that Lefevre plans to retire. “Our tech priorities aren’t changing. We’re focused on the tech work needed to deliver our Back to Starbucks plan,” the memo stated.

The company is rolling out an AI-powered automated inventory counter to all company-owned stores in North America by the end of September 2025, alongside a new point-of-sale system, an AI assistant for baristas, and a queuing algorithm to help sequence orders during busy periods. Starbucks said it will “continue to have a very significant in-house technology team, but the focus is on the most important capabilities and the most important work,” according to a company statement reported by Reuters.

The leadership change comes during a second wave of corporate job cuts and store rationalisation. Starbucks has disclosed six consecutive quarters of declining sales and plans to close underperforming U.S. locations, forecasting a net 1 per cent reduction in company-owned stores across the U.S. and Canada by the end of fiscal 2025, with several hundred closures expected. In September, the company said it would eliminate 900 non-retail roles and projected $1 billion in costs tied to closures, restructuring and related actions. Earlier in February, it cut 1,100 corporate jobs, with IT reportedly hit particularly hard, and increased the role of Tata Consultancy Services in its technology organisation.

Lefevre joined Starbucks in May 2022 after a stint at McDonald’s to bolster drive-through, mobile ordering and other systems, the reports said. Shares have fallen more than 12 per cent over the past 12 months, compared with a 16 per cent rise in the S&P 500, Reuters reported.

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