ALBAWABA - Following the company's latest financial report, CEO Laxman Narasimhan acknowledged that Starbucks witnessed a more frugal customer in terms of purchasing, but he also noted the need for shop enhancements, taking shape in the return of negotiations with the Workers United, as reported by CNBC.
The current discussions resume from where the two sides left off in late April, when Workers United, the union representing employees throughout the chain's U.S. locations, and Starbucks announced that they had achieved critical advances.
Starbucks had an objectively difficult quarter by last month. As same-store sales dropped 3 percent and traffic decreased 7 percent in the US, leading the biggest coffee business in the world to lower its 2024 projection.
Starbucks has been the subject of boycott calls by many after it sued its workers union over a social media post that expressed support to Palestinians in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, as well as reports of the company’s biggest private shareholder Howard Schultz stance on supporting the Zionism regime, causing significant financial hurdles for the business.
Starbucks’ former chief executive officer has commented in a LinkedIn post that “U.S. operations are the primary reason for the company’s fall from grace,” adding that “the answer does not lie in data, but in the stores,” which he believes to be requiring a “maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant.”
From his side, CEO Narasimhan stated that “in our U.S. stores, we’re focused on creating a more stable environment for partners through investments in equipment innovation, process improvements, staffing, scheduling and waste reduction, all things our partners value, and prioritize creating a more satisfying work environment in our stores while de-risking our business.”
