Latest news with #remote work
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Starbucks to require corporate staff work from office four days a week
Starbucks will require corporate staff to be in the office at least four days a week and is offering cash to employees who decide to quit instead, as executives bank on in-person work to improve the company's flagging performance. The world's largest coffee house chain on Monday increased the number of days employees are required to work in the office from three to four. The mandate from chief executive Brian Niccol shows how some US companies are retreating from liberal remote work policies adopted during the pandemic. Amazon, which like Starbucks is headquartered in Seattle, this year ordered staff to be in the office five days a week. READ MORE All Starbucks corporate managers with direct reports will also be required to work from the Seattle or Canadian headquarters in Toronto within 12 months, the company said. Mr Niccol said in a message to employees: 'We know we're asking a lot of every partner as we work to turn the business around. And we understand that the updated in-office culture may not work for everyone.' 'To support those who decide to 'opt out,' we're offering a one-time voluntary exit programme with a cash payment for partners who make this choice,' he added. [ Return-to-office edicts aren't always what they seem Opens in new window ] The vast majority of Starbucks' more than 350,000 employees work inside its coffee houses. Executives plan to hire more baristas to improve customer service and reverse a protracted slide in sales. Fewer than 20,000 are employed in corporate support, as well as in store development, roasting, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, according to its annual report. The Juggle: the issues facing women with young children when balancing childcare and their careers Listen | 44:30 Starbucks in February cut 1,100 office jobs and eliminated hundreds of open and unfilled positions. Company leaders with the status of vice-president or higher who had been working remotely were required to work from the Seattle or Toronto offices. Monday's announcement applied that requirement to all corporate managers. Mr Niccol joined Starbucks last year from Newport Beach, California-based Chipotle Mexican Grill with a goal of turning around the coffee chain's flagging business. His employment agreement promised him a 'small remote office' in Newport Beach and said he would not be required to relocate to Seattle. Starbucks said Mr Niccol has an office and a house in Seattle. Mr Niccol wrote: 'We are re-establishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together. We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster. Being in-person also helps us build and strengthen our culture. As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever.' - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Starbucks staff must work in the office four days a week
Starbucks has told its corporate staff they must work in the office for four days a week or take a payment and will be expected to be in the office between Monday and Thursday starting in October, up from a previous requirement that staff come in for three days. The directive is the latest in a series from companies who are pushing to restrict remote working which expanded during the Covid pandemic. Starbucks workers who choose not to comply with the new policy, which applies to the US and Canada, will be offered a one-time payout if they decide to leave. Brian Niccol, chief executive at Starbucks who joined the business less than a year ago, said the change would help the firm do its "best work" as it faces falling sales and other challenges."We understand not everyone will agree with this approach," he wrote in a company blog."We've listened and thought carefully. But as a company built on human connection, and given the scale of the turnaround ahead, we believe this is the right path for Starbucks," he part of the move, the company will require certain managers to relocate to Seattle, where Starbucks is headquartered, or Toronto. Mr Niccol's contract did not require him to relocate to Seattle while specifying that the firm would establish a small remote office near his hometown in California. He has since bought a home in new policy is part of a series of changes Mr Niccol has made to turn around include revamping its menus and coffee shops as well as reversing rules for its cafes in North America that allowed people to use their facilities even if they had not bought people were allowed to linger in Starbucks outlets and use their toilets without making a this year, the firm cut 1,100 companies have also been tightening their remote work policies, including the likes of Amazon and JP Morgan. Surveys by researchers at Stanford, the Instituto Tecnogolico Autonomo de Mexico and the University of Chicago suggest that overall working practices in recent years have been fairly stable. Their research has found that in the US, about about a third of staff who can perform their roles remotely have been recalled to the office full-time, while roughly a fifth are fully remote. About 45% enjoy a hybrid policy.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Starbucks takes aim at remote work, says some employees may need to relocate to headquarters
The Starbucks mermaid logo is displayed at the company's corporate headquarters in Seattle on April 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) Starbucks is requiring some remote workers to return to its headquarters and increasing the number of days that corporate employees are required to work in an office. In a letter to employees posted on Monday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said corporate employees would need to be in the office four days a week starting in early October instead of three days a week. The Seattle-based company said that all corporate 'people leaders' must be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. That is a change from February, when it required vice presidents to relocate to Seattle or Toronto. Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto. 'We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together. We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster,' Niccol wrote in the letter. Niccol said affected workers who choose not to relocate will be eligible for a one-time voluntary exit program with a cash payment. While many workers grew to enjoy working from home during the pandemic, the call for workers to return to offices full-time has been growing over the past year. Major employers such as Amazon, AT&T and the federal government have required employees to work in company sites five days per week. Competition for fully-remote jobs is fierce. Starbucks spokeswoman Lori Torgerson said she didn't have a count of employees who are currently working as 'people leaders' or are working remotely. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes coffee roasters and warehouse staff. Niccol was not required to relocate to Seattle when he was hired to lead Starbucks last August. Instead, the company said it would help him set up an office near his home in Newport Beach, California, and would give him the use of a corporate jet to commute to Seattle. Since then, Niccol has bought a home in Seattle and is frequently seen at the company's headquarters, Torgerson said. ___ AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed from New York. Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Starbucks says some remote workers may need to relocate to headquarters
Starbucks Corp. SBUX-Q is requiring some remote workers to return to its headquarters and increasing the number of days that corporate employees are required to work in an office. In a letter to employees posted on Monday, Starbucks chairman and chief executive Brian Niccol said corporate employees would need to be in the office four days a week starting in early October instead of three days a week. The Seattle-based company said that all corporate 'people leaders' must be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. That is a change from February, when it required vice-presidents to relocate to Seattle or Toronto. Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto. 'We are re-establishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together. We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster,' Niccol wrote in the letter. Even as office hours ramp up, downtown foot traffic is slow to rebound Niccol said affected workers who choose not to relocate will be eligible for a one-time voluntary exit program with a cash payment. While many workers grew to enjoy working from home during the pandemic, the call for workers to return to offices full-time has been growing over the past year. Major employers such as Inc., AT&T Inc. and the federal government have required employees to work in company sites five days per week. Competition for fully-remote jobs is fierce. Starbucks spokeswoman Lori Torgerson said she didn't have a count of employees who are currently working as 'people leaders' or are working remotely. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes coffee roasters and warehouse staff. Niccol was not required to relocate to Seattle when he was hired to lead Starbucks last August. Instead, the company said it would help him set up an office near his home in Newport Beach, Calif., and would give him the use of a corporate jet to commute to Seattle. Since then, Niccol has bought a home in Seattle and is frequently seen at the company's headquarters, Torgerson said.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Starbucks takes aim at remote work, says some employees may need to relocate to headquarters
Starbucks is requiring some remote workers to return to its headquarters and increasing the number of days that corporate employees are required to work in an office. In a letter to employees posted on Monday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said corporate employees would need to be in the office four days a week starting in early October instead of three days a week. The Seattle-based company said that all corporate people leaders must be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. That is a change from February when it required vice presidents to relocate to Seattle or Toronto. Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto. 'We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we're together. We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster,' Niccol wrote in the letter. Niccol said affected workers who choose not to relocate will be eligible for a one-time voluntary exit program with a cash payment. While many workers grew to enjoy working from home during the pandemic, the call for workers to return to offices full-time has been growing over the past year. Major employers such as Amazon, AT&T, and the federal government have required employees to work in company sites five days per week. Competition for fully-remote jobs is fierce. Starbucks spokeswoman Lori Torgerson said she didn't have a count of employees who are currently working as people leaders or are working remotely. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes coffee roasters and warehouse staff. Niccol was not required to relocate to Seattle when he was hired to lead Starbucks last August. Instead, the company said it would help him set up an office near his home in Newport Beach, California, and would give him the use of a corporate jet to commute to Seattle. Since then, Niccol has bought a home in Seattle and is frequently seen at the company's headquarters, Torgerson said.
