Starbucks' newly-appointed CEO has made headlines due to his unusually long commute to the office. Brian Niccol, who is set to take the reins of the company next month, will be reportedly using a corporate jet to cover the distance between his home in California and the company's headquarters in Seattle (a distance of approx 1600 kilometres). As per the company, when he is not travelling for work, Niccol will still be expected to work from the Seattle office at least three days a week in alignment with Starbucks' hybrid work policies. The news has sparked much criticism online, especially in the context of the environmental impact of such jet travel.
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People took to social media to slam Niccol and Starbucks for this decision. Several responded with sarcasm and memes. In particular, users are contrasting Starbucks' seemingly 'green' paper straw policy to its CEO's commute, which is far from eco-friendly. In this context, people are pointing out the irony and "hypocrisy" of the company that had proudly announced its decision to eliminate plastic straws a few years ago.
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One of the viral memes on the topic was shared by @sagarcasm. The sarcastic post read, " Starbucks' new CEO will fly 1600 km daily in a private jet for work. Meanwhile Starbucks employees to customers: Paper straw lijiye. Thak gaye honge environment kharaab kar kar ke." ["Take paper straws. You must be tired of damaging the environment."]
Note that Starbucks has clarified that the jet commute is not a daily one, but weekly when Niccol will not already be travelling to other locations for work. The company has also stated that Brian's schedule "will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations Starbucks has for all partners." Nevertheless, people have taken to social media to express their disapproval of such jet travel. Check out some of the other reactions from X below:
Brian Niccol has replaced Laxman Narasimhan as the CEO of Starbucks. In July 2024, Narasimhan revealed that he "almost never" worked past 6 pm in an interview with Fortune magazine. His declaration about work-life balance took the internet by storm, especially as he stepped down from the helm of the global giant.
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