Starbucks has gone from a ‘unique coffee place’ to a ‘soulless fast-food empire,’ veteran employees say

• Starbucks is at a crossroads with the impending arrival of former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol.
• One veteran employee said Starbucks has become like a fast-food competitor.
• He said working at Starbucks has changed a lot since the mid-2000s.

In 2008, Starbucks investors were pressuring CEO Howard Schultz to cut costs.

In a 2010 interview, Schultz said he was pitched a novel idea to cut costs — to eliminate health insurance for part-time employees — but he rejected the idea and told Fortune he encouraged the investor to consider selling his stock.

Schultz has since come under fire for everything from his treatment of employees trying to unionize to his use of olive oil in his coffee drinks.

But for one worker at a North Carolina store who has worked for Starbucks for 19 years, Schultz’s health insurance decision represents a departure from the company’s past.

“[Starbucks]used to be a great place to work,” the employee said.

“Nobody would leave Starbucks unless they were in college and looking to pursue a higher career or were already retired.”

Starbucks is at a crossroads after the company spent the past few years fighting hundreds of employees who tried to unionize and negotiate contracts, only to announce earlier this year that it would negotiate with those workers.

There will also be a change in CEO. Starbucks announced on August 13 that Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, will take over as Starbucks’ new CEO on September 9, replacing Laxman Narasimhan. The change comes amid sluggish sales and longer customer wait times in the US, and challenges facing the company’s business in China.

The North Carolina veteran cited health insurance for part-time employees, as well as the company’s stock-grant program called “Bean Stock” and the practice of calling store workers “partners,” both of which were introduced in 1991, shortly after Schultz became CEO, as symbols of the old Starbucks.

According to the employee, who started working at Starbucks in the mid-2000s, when he joined the company, Starbucks had a reputation for “treating its employees.” However, he said that “changes” in recent years, such as store staffing cuts and the increase in mobile ordering, have changed that image.

The employee said that his store often has just two or three staff members on staff, down from a maximum of five a few years ago, and that this has put employees under increasing strain, with a steady stream of app orders leaving them with less time to serve customers who order in-store.

“What started as a cool, unique coffee shop job has turned into a soulless fast food empire,” the employee said.

Regarding the situation since Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2017, he said, “It’s only gotten worse since Howard left.”

A Starbucks spokesperson said the company collects employee feedback through surveys and meetings between employees and leadership, and that store associates “have numerous opportunities throughout the year to share their opinions, experiences and suggest improvements.”

Wall Street analysts have hailed Nicol as the turnaround expert Starbucks needs, citing the strong growth in Chipotle’s stock price during his tenure.

But one Starbucks employee at a North Carolina store isn’t as optimistic, telling Business Insider that she’s skeptical that Nicol will be able to address the issues her store is facing, including chronic staff shortages and a surge in mobile orders that are putting employees at a strain.

A Starbucks spokesperson declined to comment on whether Nicol has any early plans for how employees will be paid or what working conditions they will enjoy, but did say that baristas make between “$15.25 and $26 an hour.”

The North Carolina Starbucks employee cited another reason he doesn’t expect much from Nicol: the Chipotle near the Starbucks where he works.

“No matter what time of day you go, they always seem angry,” he said of the Chipotle employees who work there.

“It seems like sometimes they don’t have enough manpower.”