Just last week, Starbucks introduced their new CEO, Brian Niccol, the former head of Chipotle. He was quickly hailed as a new massiah who was meant to usher in a new era of ultra-profitablity for the coffee giant.
However, his personal stock took a tumble when the internet discovered that he would be flying more than 1,000 miles per week on his private jet to get to the company’s HQ in Seattle for weekly meetings.
Brian Niccol
The former food-induistry CEO has been in charge of several companies that have hit rough patches. He’s known for coming in, cutting costs, and boosting company profits.
In the past, he worked for Proctor & Gamble managing ThermaCare before moving to Yum! Brands as vice-president of strategic marketing. He has been credited with turning around companies like Chopotle and Taco Bell.
Backlash
Although everything seemed to be going well for the newly appointed CEO, news broke that he would be flying weekly from his home in Newport Beach California, to Seattle to attend Starbucks corporate meetings via private jet.
Low-paid employees who feel that stores are understaffed in the name of corporate profits think that this move is a good one a massive waste of company resources.
Starbucks Offer Letter
In the offer letter from Starbucks, the flight plan was always part of the deal.
The company stated: “During your employment with the company, you will not be required to relocate to the company’s headquarters … You agree to commute from your residence to the company’s headquarters (and engage in other business travel) as is required to perform your duties and responsibilities.”
Following Company’s Hybrid Work Policies
After thousands of office employees were called back to the office in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lifting, heads of the company also agreed to work in the office part-time. However, regular employees don’t have the luxury of private jets or company condos.
The document also stated that Niccol would be eligible to use the company’s jet for “business-related travel” and for “travel between [his] city of his residence and the company’s headquarters.”
Hypocritical Actions
Many internet users have blasted the new CEO for using the company jet to fly thousands of miles per week instead of just relocating to Seattle.
The criticism comes from the company’s often environmental branding, which focuses on doing good for the environment on a customer level, including a ban on plastic straws, but wastes millions of tonnes of jet fuel behind the scenes.
Private Jets Are Ultra Destructive
While it might seem like flying a private jet uses less fuel because they’re so much smaller than a commercial aircraft, this is actually the opposite of the truth.
Private jets fly one, or just a few, people at a time. According to a 2021 report by the European Federation of Transport and Environment, private jets are more than 14 times more polluting, per passenger, than commercial planes. As well, they are 50 times more polluting than trains or other eco-friendly modes of transportation.
The Internet Calls Out Starbucks
The internet used this snafu as an opportunity to call out the company for breaking environmental practices while encouraging CEOs to defy the same values.
One user on social media platform X wrote, “Starbucks CEO has decided to travel on a private jet for work instead of relocating. Meanwhile, we are supposed to save the environment and have our coffee with a paper straw that gets soggy in minutes.”
Starbucks Declined to Comment
Unfortunately, Starbucks has decided to decline comment on the accusation that the company is practicing hypocritical values.
In today’s world, customers demand much more accountability and transparency from companies.
Workers Are Upset About Policy
Although the online outcry from upset customers will likely die down in the next few weeks, employees of the corporation say that they hope the backlash doesn’t get pushed under the rug.
“If I was a Starbucks employee at corporate and I heard that a huge amount of costs every month is being used [to fuel a private jet] rather than investing into the workforce or investing into benefits or bonuses or whatever it may be, I’d be pretty pissed off,” Ben Alalouff, chief strategy officer at the marketing agency Live & Breath told Fortune.
Starbucks Suffering From Boycott
A few months ago, a group of people online set up an international boycott of brands that sent money directly or indirectly to Isreal for support of the active war on Gaza.
Part of the reason why Starbucks brought in a new CEO was due to declining sales and lagging public image.
Union Busting Efforts
In the past, Starbucks has also been under fire for its union-busting efforts that many say cost the company more than working in harmony with unions to raise employee wages and get them much needed benefits like healthcare.
Earlier this year, news broke of the cruel tactics used in one of the company’s Buffalo locations to quell employees who were attempting to unionize.
