Starbucks Employee Says It’s Now a ‘Soulless Fast Food Empire’

Since then, Schultz has come under fire for everything from Starbucks’ treatment of unionized workers to the chain’s olive oil coffee drinks.

But for one Starbucks worker in North Carolina who spent nearly 20 years with the company, Schultz’s decision on medical benefits symbolized what Starbucks once was.

“It used to be a great place to work,” the employee said. “People wouldn’t leave Starbucks unless they were students and moved up to a higher career or retired with the company.” The employee requested anonymity, citing fear of retaliation from Starbucks, but Business Insider verified his identity and employment.

Starbucks is at a crossroads. The company spent several years fighting with workers at hundreds of stores as they tried to form unions and negotiate contracts — though Starbucks said it would negotiate with those workers this year.

The company is also in the midst of a CEO change. Starbucks said last month that Brian Niccol, who stepped down as Chipotle’s CEO on Sunday, would replace Laxman Narasimhan as CEO effective Sept. 9. The change comes as Starbucks faces declining sales in the US, long customer wait times and challenges in its China business.

The North Carolina employee also pointed to the company’s stock award program, Bean Stock, and its decision to call store employees “partners” — both of which began in Schultz’s early years as CEO in 1991.

The employee, who started working at Starbucks in the mid-2000s, said the company had a reputation for treating workers well when he joined. But he said changes over the past two years, such as reduced staffing levels in his store and an increasing flow of mobile orders, have changed that picture.

The Starbucks location where the employee works now has two or three people on duty most shifts, up from as many as five a few years ago, he said. This leaves employees more stretched, especially with a steady stream of orders placed through the Starbucks app and less time to serve customers ordering in-store.

“It started as a hip, quirky coffee shop job and has since turned into this soulless fast food empire,” the employee said.

“Since Howard left, I’ve said things have really gone downhill,” he said of the period after Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2017.

A Starbucks spokesperson said the company seeks feedback from employees through surveys and meetings between employees and management. Store employees “have several opportunities throughout the year to voice their opinions, share their experiences and suggest areas for improvement,” the spokesperson added.

Wall Street analysts have hailed Niccol as the turnaround expert Starbucks needs, citing Chipotle’s stock price soaring several times during his tenure.

But the Starbucks worker at the North Carolina store isn’t as optimistic. He told BI he’s skeptical that Niccol will address the problems he’s seeing at his store, including a chronic lack of business hours and the rise of mobile orders that tend to overwhelm on-duty employees.

The Starbucks spokesman declined to comment on any early plans Niccol may have for employee compensation or working conditions. They added that barista wages range “from $15.25 to $26 per hour.”

The employee from North Carolina also pointed to another reason why he is hopeless: the Chipotle near the Starbucks where he works.

“No matter what time of day I come in, they always seem upset,” he said of the Chipotle employees he’s seen there. “And it seems like sometimes they don’t have enough people working.”

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Correction: September 6, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Howard Schultz’s name in the first paragraph.