Seattle's mayor is softening his anti-Starbucks rhetoric amid business climate concerns
The hosts of 'The Big Money Show' discuss Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's comments dismissing millionaires leaving the city as Starbucks moves 2,000 jobs to Nashville.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is backtracking on earlier calls for shoppers to boycott Starbucks, as tensions grow over Seattle's relationship with big employers and the coffee giant expands its footprint outside of Washington state.
Wilson, a democratic socialist who was elected last year on a progressive, labor-backed platform, told the New York Times this week that his comments during a Starbucks strike last fall had no effect.
“Those speeches were ineffective in the sense that they caused more harm than good,” Wilson told the media.
The remarks marked a marked change from comments Wilson made shortly after winning Seattle's mayoral race in November, when he joined Starbucks workers in a picket line outside the company's former Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill and urged residents to boycott the hometown coffee chain.
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Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson speaks during the Seattle International Film Festival at SIFF Cinema Downtown on May 17, 2026. (Photos by Matt Hayward/Getty/Getty Images)
“I don't buy Starbucks and neither should you,” Wilson said at the rally, according to KUOW. He later led the protesters to sing in support of the striking workers.
At the time, several Starbucks workers in Seattle and other cities were on strike amid stalled contract negotiations with the company.
Wilson's comments have resurfaced in recent weeks as concerns grow among business leaders and local officials about the state of Seattle's economy and whether progressive politics could drive wealthy employers and residents elsewhere.
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That concern intensified after Starbucks announced plans to establish a 2,000-employee corporate center in Nashville, Tennessee, fueling speculation that the company could gradually shift more jobs from Seattle, where Starbucks was founded in 1971 and still maintains its world headquarters. Tennessee continues to attract an increasing number of companies from companies seeking lower taxes, lower operating costs and a more business-friendly regulatory environment than most West Coast cities.
A sign emblazoned with the Starbucks logo hangs near the entrance of a Starbucks coffee shop. (Robert Alexander / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Seattle Council member Rob Saka told the New York Times he was “deeply concerned” about the potential impact on the city.
“This is true,” Saka told the outlet.
Saka's concerns mark a major shift in his tone following Wilson's election victory, when he praised the mayor's “power” and said voters wanted “change and a refocus on affordability.”
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The former CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, also weighed in earlier this month in a Wall Street Journal op-ed criticizing Seattle's political leadership and warning the city of the danger of alienating businesses that have helped the economy rise.
“Seattle's mayor, Katie Wilson, has chosen to do business as a foil instead of a partner,” Schultz wrote. “His socialist rhetoric insults employers, even though he continues to rely on them for income.”
Schultz said Washington state's economic success is built on entrepreneurship, innovation and business growth, adding that the ecosystem is now “broken.”
Seattle area. (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The debate comes as Seattle and Washington grapple with rising housing costs, cost concerns and tax policy disputes. Earlier this spring, Washington lawmakers approved a new 9.9% tax on certain personal incomes above $1 million, a measure that critics described as the state's first income tax, while Wilson has recently come under fire for comments dismissing concerns that wealthier citizens could leave the country.
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“I think the speculation that millionaires are going to leave our country is overblown,” Wilson said at a conference at Seattle University last month. “And those who are going? Like, bye.”
Wilson has indicated that he is trying to strike a more moderate tone in the Seattle corporate community.
The mayor told The New York Times that he now understands his comments will be scrutinized for signs of anti-business and said he hopes to maintain a “diverse relationship” with companies like Starbucks.
“I want them here,” Wilson said of Starbucks, “and I believe they want to be here.”
Starbucks planned its Nashville expansion as part of a broader growth strategy than moving out of Seattle. In a letter to employees cited by the New York Times, Starbucks chief operating officer Sara Kelly described the Tennessee expansion as “a complement to our global and North American presence in Seattle.” Starbucks has continued to restructure parts of its Seattle workforce, including the reported layoffs tied to its technology division earlier this month.
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Fox Business has reached out to Starbucks and the Seattle mayor's office for comment.
Fox News Digital's Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
