Starbucks Plans Reshuffling That Will Trim Executive Ranks
The global coffee
behemoth will lay off some non-retail employees at the vice president
and senior vice president level, a spokeswoman said on Monday. In a memo
last week, the chief executive, Kevin Johnson, notified employees of a
reorganization meant to help the company expand internationally,
particularly in fast-growing markets like China.
“We
must increase the velocity of innovation that is relevant to our
customers, inspires our partners, and is meaningful to our business,”
Mr. Johnson wrote in the note. “To accomplish this, we are going to make
some significant changes to how we work as leaders in all areas of the
company and how functional groups are structured to support our retail
stores.”
Mr. Johnson didn’t detail
his plans in the memo. Starbucks declined to say how many people would
be affected, or how many employees held the senior vice president or
vice president titles. The coffee chain, based in Seattle, employs
277,000 people globally, according to its most recent annual financial
filing. Most of those employees work in Starbucks stores or support
facilities.
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The restructuring, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg, will conclude in mid-November.
Starbucks has also seen some changes at the very top. Its founder, Howard Schultz, stepped down
as executive chairman in June. Later that month, the company announced
that its chief financial officer, Scott Maw, would retire in November,
sending the stock tumbling.
The
expansion plans are a counterweight to the company’s stagnant sales in
the United States, where smaller, regional rivals have gained ground,
and customer demand for Starbucks’ signature Frappuccino has waned.
Same-store sales — one measure of performance — rose just 1 percent in
the most recent fiscal quarter, a sign that the company must find new
areas for growth at home and abroad.
This month, hundreds of Italians lined up to sample the espresso and cappuccino at the country’s first Starbucks cafe.
From https://nyti.ms/2xDbvoB
From https://nyti.ms/2xDbvoB
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