Some Employees Raise Issues Over Reckless Staff Cuts
Building Consensus Among Employees via Blind
Starbucks "Will Listen to Employee Opinions and Communicate"
Starbucks employees took to truck protests ahead of the 'Winter e-Frequency' event to collect Starbucks diaries. They claim that the headquarters has neglected investment in labor costs while conducting various events to improve performance, resulting in being overworked.
According to industry sources on the 29th, some Starbucks Korea employees held truck protests the day before in the areas of Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, and Sinchon, Mapo-gu. They raised issues such as "complex events and notice operations causing confusion among customers and partners," "unilateral notification of reduced customer benefits," and "indiscriminate workforce reductions while simultaneously pressuring on-site partners with beverage serving time performance and service indicators." The truck protests will continue for two days.
Previously, Starbucks employees, who do not have a labor union, had formed a consensus about the truck protests on Blind, an anonymous community for office workers.
In particular, they argue that the workload has increased due to various promotions and events, but investment in labor costs has not been made. Despite continuous resignations, the headquarters is not hiring to replace those employees. They also complain that during large-scale events like the Winter e-Frequency campaign, even break times are not observed.
Some employees raised suspicions that the headquarters might be trying to reduce labor costs to improve declining business performance. Starbucks Korea recorded its highest-ever sales of 2.9295 trillion won last year, but its operating profit margin was 4.8%, about half compared to 8.5% in 2020 and 10.0% in 2021, when COVID-19 was rampant.
Accordingly, Starbucks will raise the price of 11 types of Tall size iced beverages by 200 won starting next month. This comes three months after raising prices for all beverages except Tall size in August. As a result, the prices of popular menu items such as Double Espresso Chip, Java Chip, and Jeju Matcha Cream Frappuccino will increase from 6,300 won to 6,500 won.
Starbucks stated that it intends to listen to employee opinions and improve the working environment. A Starbucks representative said, "We have regularly communicated with partners about improving the working environment and operational efficiency through internal communication bodies such as the Happiness Council, but we deeply regret that such an incident occurred," adding, "We will strive to listen more carefully to partners' opinions and suggestions in the future."
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