California-Seattle 1600km
Starbucks Works at Headquarters 3 Days a Week
The world's largest coffee chain Starbucks is facing controversy for providing a private jet exclusively for commuting to its new CEO, Brian Niccol.
On the 21st (local time), US media CNBC and UK BBC reported this, citing Starbucks' new CEO proposal released last week. According to this proposal, Starbucks will provide Niccol with a private jet to commute from his home in Newport Beach, California, which is 1,000 miles (about 1,609 km) away, to the Seattle headquarters.
Since early last year, Starbucks has implemented a hybrid work policy requiring employees to work at least three days a week in the office. Therefore, Niccol must also work at the Seattle headquarters at least three days a week unless he is on a business trip. When he does not commute directly to Seattle, Niccol will work from a separate office set up in Newport Beach, and Starbucks plans to assign staff to act as his secretary there as well.
When the new CEO's working conditions became known, the media pointed out the 'two-faced' nature of Starbucks, which has usually promoted eco-friendly policies, and netizens also strongly opposed it.
BBC cited a UN report stating that the carbon emissions of the richest 1% in the world are twice as much as the combined emissions of the poorest 50%, criticizing Starbucks CEO's private jet commuting.
A user on X (formerly Twitter) sarcastically said, "Starbucks' CEO is commuting 1,000 miles by private jet, so don't be too harsh on Starbucks store employees if they give you plastic straws you don't want." Another user criticized, saying, "It's a policy for top talent," but added, "I hope we don't see too many Starbucks ads about 'environment' and 'sustainability' in the future."
Niccol was appointed as Starbucks' new CEO on the 13th, succeeding former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who resigned due to poor performance. He is evaluated as having successfully led management innovation while serving as CEO of the fast-food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill. Previously, Niccol served as CEO of Taco Bell for three years from 2015 and held executive positions at Pizza Hut, mainly working in the food service industry.
As compensation for leaving Chipotle and joining Starbucks, CEO Niccol will receive $10 million in cash (about 13.5 billion KRW) and $75 million worth of stock (about 101 billion KRW), totaling $85 million (about 115 billion KRW). In addition, he will receive an annual base salary of $1.6 million (about 2.2 billion KRW) as CEO and can earn up to $8.8 million (about 11.9 billion KRW) more in cash bonuses if performance targets are met.
Starting from the 2025 fiscal year, he will also be eligible for stock bonuses of up to $23 million (about 31.2 billion KRW) annually based on performance. Niccol is scheduled to lead Starbucks starting from the 9th of next month.
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