Starbucks has informed its corporate employees that they could be fired if they fail to work in the office three days a week, Bloomberg reported.
Starting in January, the coffee chain will implement a “standardised process” to ensure workers adhere to its return-to-office policy, according to a company memo seen by Bloomberg News.
The email said consequences are “up to, and including, separation”.
The announcement marks a step up in Starbucks’ efforts to enforce its work-from-office mandate.
It said last year that corporate employees must work from the office three days a week. Employees within commuting distance of the company’s headquarters are required to be there on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and another day to be agreed upon with managers, according to a report by CNN.
“We are continuing to support our leaders as they hold their teams accountable to our existing hybrid work policy,” Starbucks said in a statement on Monday (Oct 28).
The three-day policy affects about 3,500 corporate employees. The majority of the company’s workers work at its stores.
The company memo comes two months after Brian Niccol took over as Starbucks’ new CEO.
He has raised eyebrows with his own work arrangements, with the company giving him a corporate jet to commute back and forth between his home in California and the coffee chain’s Seattle offices more than 1,600km away.
According to CNN, the setup was revealed in his offer letter, which states he would get a “small remote office” at his California home and would not be required to permanently relocate.
Bloomberg reported that several employees had said they did not care where the CEO was based, as long as he did not crack down on in-office requirements.
POST-PANDEMIC RETURN-TO-OFFICE
Starbucks is the latest company to summon employees back to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, tech giant Amazon mandated a policy of five office days a week starting next year.
Just last week, Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab told its staff that it would require its employees to work five days a week in the office starting in December.
Starbucks last week reported weaker-than-expected sales in its fiscal fourth quarter.
The company said it would suspend financial guidance for its 2025 fiscal year to give its new CEO time to assess the business.
Starbucks’ revenue fell 3 per cent to US$9.1 billion in the July to September period, which was lower than the US$9.4 billion Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Starbucks said its adjusted earnings fell 24.5 per cent from the same period a year ago to 80 cents per share. That also fell short of analysts’ forecast of US$1.03 per-share earnings.