The U.S. House of Representatives just passed President Obama’s economic stimulus package this afternoon (not a single Republican voted for it), but it won’t be in time to save 300 Starbucks stores or Howard Schultz’s executive compensation.

In a memo sent out from Schultz today, he announced that the company would be shedding some 350 more jobs at its headquarters in Seattle, and closing an additional 200 U.S. stores and 100 international ones. He also said that he was cutting his own salary to $10,000 this year, the minimum required to qualify for health care coverage. Last year Schultz received $9.7 million in salary, benefits and perks.
All in all, Starbucks expects to lay off approximately 6,700 employees over the next nine months.

Perhaps, although the econmomic turmoil affects us all in specialty coffee, the silver lining of Starbucks’ recent wobbles are the opportunities it opens for independent retailers and roasters to capture some of those customers. Any thoughts from your end? We’d love to hear. Let us know in the comments.