Starbucks Targets Remote Workers, Suggests Possible Relocation to Headquarters for Some Employees

Starbucks is mandating that some remote employees go back to its headquarters and is also increasing the office days required for corporate workers.

In a letter to staff published on Monday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol stated that corporate employees would need to work in the office four days a week starting in early October, up from the previous three days a week.

The Seattle-headquartered company announced that all corporate “people leaders” must be situated in either Seattle or Toronto within a year. This updates the policy from February, which mandated vice presidents to move to Seattle or Toronto.

Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto.

“We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we’re together. We share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster,” Niccol wrote in the letter.

Niccol said affected workers who choose not to relocate will be eligible for a one-time voluntary exit program with a cash payment.

While many workers grew to enjoy working from home during the pandemic, the call for workers to return to offices full-time has been growing over the past year. Major employers such as Amazon, AT&T and the federal government have required employees to work in company sites five days per week. Competition for fully-remote jobs is fierce.

Starbucks spokeswoman Lori Torgerson said she didn’t have a count of employees who are currently working as “people leaders” or are working remotely. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes coffee roasters and warehouse staff.

Niccol was not required to relocate to Seattle when he was hired to lead Starbucks last August. Instead, the company said it would help him set up an office near his home in Newport Beach, California, and would give him the use of a corporate jet to commute to Seattle.

Since then, Niccol has bought a home in Seattle and is frequently seen at the company’s headquarters, Torgerson said.

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AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed from New York.