Starbucks new boss below fireplace for 1,000-mile commute


Getty Images Brian Niccol, the new boss of Starbucks, smiling on a golf course in 2023Getty Pictures

The newly introduced boss of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, has come below fireplace after it was revealed he’ll commute nearly 1,000 miles (1,600km) from his household residence in Newport Seashore, California, to the agency’s headquarters in Seattle on a company jet.

Critics have famous what they see as a discrepancy between the corporate’s public stance on inexperienced points and the life of its prime executives, together with questions round whether or not Starbuck’s three-day workplace working rule will apply to him.

Mr Niccol is because of take up the function on the helm of the world’s greatest espresso store chain on 9 September.

Starbucks has not responded to requests for remark from the BBC.

Mr Niccol’s job supply mentioned he could be not “be required to relocate to the corporate’s headquarters”, however added: “You conform to commute out of your residence to the corporate’s headquarters… as is required to carry out your duties and obligations”.

The doc states that he will likely be eligible to make use of the corporate’s plane for “enterprise associated journey” and for “journey between [his] metropolis of residence and the corporate’s headquarters”.

Starbucks additionally mentioned it can arrange a small distant workplace in Newport Seashore for Mr Niccol to make use of when working from California.

Starbucks has a hybrid work coverage meaning staff must be within the workplace at the very least three days every week.

The corporate has not confirmed whether or not the identical guidelines will apply to Mr Niccol or whether or not him working from the brand new distant workplace in California would fulfil these necessities.

Map showing the time it takes to travel between Newport Beach in California and Seattle - it's roughly an 18 hour drive or three hour flight between the two locations.

Dan Coatsworth, an funding analyst at AJ Bell, advised the BBC Mr Niccol “on paper” was being given the “similar hybrid working phrases as different office-based staff, as one may anticipate”.

“Nonetheless, what leaves a bitter style is the thought he can use a non-public jet to nip 1,000 miles between California and Seattle,” he added.

Mr Coatsworth mentioned whereas utilizing a non-public jet was not solely dangerous for the atmosphere and would ship a foul message to prospects and workers, it was additionally “finally not a sensible strategy to run a $105bn enterprise with an estimated 400,000 staff”.

“A pacesetter must be on the coronary heart of a enterprise, not sitting on the seaside having fun with the perks of the job,” he mentioned.

“The very fact Brian Niccol was drafted in to provide a brand new lease of life to Starbucks implies he has an enormous problem forward. This isn’t taking the reins of a enterprise firing on all cylinders; it’s a restore job which suggests being within the engine room always.”

The subject of the place individuals work from has been debated in recent times, with corporations in lots of industries wrestling with whether or not to permit the distant work practices that exploded throughout the coronavirus pandemic to proceed.

The phrases of his employment additionally sparked a backlash on social media.

“That is good… good comfort for prime expertise! However hope we do not see too many new ‘sustainability’ and ‘atmosphere’ associated advertisements from @starbucks? *Wink*,” mentioned one X person.

“The brand new Starbucks CEO is ‘supercommuting’ 1,000 miles to Seattle on a non-public jet to work, so don’t be too harsh on that waitress who gave you a plastic straw whenever you didn’t need one,” mentioned one other.

Some sectors, corresponding to banking, signalled early on that they might anticipate workers to return to the workplace full-time, whereas others, typically within the tech business, have mentioned they may permit distant work indefinitely. Many locations have opted for a combination.

Others targeted on how a lot Mr Niccol is ready to receives a commission in his new job.

“How come we by no means speak about CEO pay once we speak about rising costs?” former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich posted.

In accordance with the phrases of his supply, Mr Niccol’s annual base pay will likely be $1.6m (£1.2m). On prime of that he might get a performance-related bonus of as a lot as $7.2m and as much as $23m a 12 months of Starbucks shares.

A report revealed by the United Nations in 2021 confirmed that the world’s wealthiest 1% of individuals produced double the mixed carbon emissions of the poorest 50%.

Starbucks introduced this month that Mr Niccol could be changing Laxman Narasimhan as its chief govt.

The announcement got here because the espresso chain seems to spice up flagging gross sales.

Mr Niccol had led the Mexican quick meals chain Chipotle since 2018, serving to it to get better from a disaster after outbreaks of meals poisoning.

Throughout his time within the function the agency’s gross sales doubled and its shares surged from lower than $7 every to greater than $50.

Chipotle additionally opened nearly 1,000 new shops and new applied sciences have been launched to automate meals preparation.

In current months, it has been seen as a brilliant spot within the restaurant business, the place many companies have reported that prospects are reducing spending.



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