According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Starbucks CEO Brian Nicholl announced on the 14th that he will implement a four-day work week policy starting from the new fiscal year that will begin in October. The company will encourage employees who do not accept this to leave the company voluntarily and pay severance pay.
Some managerial-level employees who are currently working remotely must also move to Seattle, the U.S., where Starbucks is headquartered, or Toronto, Canada, where they are based in North America, within 12 months. Earlier in February, Starbucks issued the same guidelines for vice presidential executives.
The move is part of Nicole’s “Back to Starbucks” plan, a cost-cutting and management normalization strategy. Starbucks also cut 1,100 office workers at its headquarters in February. “I understand that some employees disagree with this policy,” Nicole said. “As a company based on human connection, I believe this is the right path for Starbucks given its future restructuring.”
However, CEO Nicole is using her company’s private jet to go to work at the Seattle headquarters, which is also criticized. CEO Nicole made a condition of working remotely when she was hired by Starbucks last year, but withdrew it in the face of opposition from employees.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
