Starbucks is sweetening the pot for executives to expedite the company’s turnaround efforts, even as workers protest the company’s wages for baristas.
“These grants are designed to motivate and retain our senior leaders to deliver on the significant transformation required by our turnaround plan,” the filing said. “The grants are directly tied to the achievement of key components of the Back to Starbucks plan to encourage our senior leaders to achieve these goals as quickly as possible.”
These goals pertain to the rollout of Starbucks’ Green Apron Service program to leverage technology to expedite orders, as well as “new food and beverage platforms” and “a reimaged Starbucks Rewards program,” per the filing. Employees are eligible to receive the stock grants at the end of Starbuck’s fiscal 2027, which ends in September 2027.
While employees can unlock a payout of up to 200% of the target, they must have worked through the service date of the performance-based restricted stock units.
Executive bonuses like what Starbucks disclosed on Wednesday are another worker grievance, particularly amid contract negotiations. Jasmine Leli, a barista in Buffalo, New York, and a bargaining delegate with Starbucks Workers United, told Fortune the $6 million incentives for executives is a “ridiculous and irresponsible step for Starbucks.”
“Starbucks cannot tell us that there is no money to put into a fair union contract for baristas when they paid Brian [Niccol] $96 million for 120 days of work in 2024 and have allocated millions upon millions for a glitzy manager conference and C-Suite bonuses,” Leli said in a statement. “‘Back to Starbucks’ will only succeed when baristas can thrive—and the first step is finalizing fair union contracts that lock in the staffing, hours, and protections we need to do our jobs.”
“Baristas are the most important part of the Starbucks experience,” Leli said. “We’ve yet to see any progress in our demands including better staffing, guaranteed hours, improved take-home pay, and on-the-job protections.”
