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Niccol implemented a new dress code earlier this year, requiring in-store staff to wear a solid-color black shirt and either black, blue denim, or khaki pants. Some employees protested the change by staging walkouts in May.
The CEO also implemented a strict return-to-office mandate for corporate workers that requires most staff to work from offices in Seattle or Toronto four days a week. Corporate employees previously told Business Insider they were worried the shift signaled that the company’s beloved people-first culture was eroding.
Michelle Eisen, a spokesperson for the Starbucks Workers United union and a 15-year barista veteran, told Business Insider that, while some of the changes — like the self-serve condiment bar and menu streamlining — “could be positive,” she felt baristas don’t have the staffing support to ensure the changes are executed well.
“On its face, these things sounded pretty good, but unfortunately, they were not implemented properly,” Eisen said.
An August survey of 737 current Starbucks baristas, conducted by the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions, found 91% of respondents reported issues with understaffing at their stores.
Baristas at more than 300 locations went on strike in December 2024 over issues related to pay and unresolved cases related to labor disputes. As of July, Starbucks had a total of more than 40,000 stores worldwide, with 17,230 in the US.
This summer, Starbucks said it would invest $500 million in additional labor hours and operations and hire at least one dedicated, full-time assistant store manager in each of its company-operated stores.
A spokesperson for Starbucks told Business Insider that employee engagement scores are up, and engagement among the company’s coffeehouse leaders is nearing historic highs.
“They need to double down on their own employees — if they win with their own employees, they will win with the customer, and I don’t think they’re there yet,” Kelly O’Keefe, the CEO of the marketing and strategy consultancy Brand Federation, told Business Insider. “Reconnecting with the role they once played as an employer of choice within the category is going to be vital to their success.”
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