Kevin Johnson managed to lead the company to robust revenue and growth amid the pandemic, but amid the recent employee or 'partner' protests against work conditions, in an abrupt move Starbucks announced his retirement after 13 years at the company, six as CEO
After stepping down as chief executive in 2000, Howard Schultz, 68, returned as CEO from 2008 to 2017, when Johnson took over and Schultz became executive chairman. Schultz will also rejoin the company’s board
Image: Jason Redmond / AFP
For the past two years, even as the pandemic shut down key markets and created supply shortages, Kevin Johnson, the chief executive of Starbucks, managed to lead the company to robust revenue and profit growth.
But in recent months, those operational and financial successes have been overshadowed by a wave of employees — “partners” in Starbucks parlance — who have taken to social media to criticize work conditions and raise other issues at the chain. As a result, more than 100 Starbucks stores in more than 25 states have filed for union elections. Many either have begun to vote or are likely to vote in the coming months. At least six have voted to unionize.
©2019 New York Times News Service