Starbucks CEO will fly 1,600 km on company jet to work from office 3 days a week instead of relocating

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol can use the company jet to commute between his California residence and the company headquarters in Seattle.

Updated on: Aug 21, 2024, 13:30:54 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Newly appointed Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is not expected to relocate to Seattle to work from the company’s headquarters. Instead, Niccol will be allowed use of the company jet to shuttle between his California residence and his Seattle office three times a week, according to his offer letter that was made public in an SEC filing last week.

FILE - Brian Niccol, named the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks on Aug. 13, 2024, is shown during an interview on June 9, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (AP)

The revelation is being called a stunning example of the hypocrisy of large corporations when it comes to climate change - especially in light of the fact that Starbucks is now offering paper straws in stores worldwide in a bid to eliminate single-use plastic.

What Brian Niccol’s offer letter says

Niccol, 50, will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million annually as CEO of Starbucks, according to his offer letter.

The letter also states that he will not be required to relocate to the company’s headquarters, currently in Seattle, Washington. Instead, he must agree to commute from his “residence to the company’s headquarters (and engage in other business travel) as is required to perform his duties and responsibilities.”

According to CNBC, this is a distance of 1,000 miles or roughly 1,600 km.

During his time with Starbucks, Brian Niccol will also be eligible to use the company aircraft for travel between his city of residence and the company’s headquarters in Seattle.

A company spokesperson told CNBC that Niccol will be expected to work from the Seattle office at least three times a week as per Starbucks’ hybrid work policy.

“Brian’s primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center or out visiting partners and customers in our stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices around the world,” the spokesperson added. “His schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners.”

Outrage on social media

The news of Niccol’s supercommute plan elicited shocked and critical reactions on social media.

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Reacting to the news, one X user said: “You better stop giving paper lids and straws. That would be hypocritical.”

“We have to drink from paper straws, while their CEO commutes via private jets,” another said.

“Flying a private jet three days a week just to go to work, but Starbucks had the unmitigated gall to tell us to use paper straws. I hate it here,” an X user opined.

Some called it a PR disaster in the making, while others called on Starbucks to revise the terms of the offer letter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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