Dee-Ann Durbin
Starbucks is requiring that some remote workers return to their headquarters and increase the number of days that corporate employees need to work in the office.
In a letter to employees posted Monday, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Nicole said that corporate employees need to be in the office four days a week from early October, rather than three days a week.
The Seattle-based company said that “people leaders” in all companies should be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. This is a change since February when the Vice President requested that the move be made to Seattle or Toronto.
Starbucks said individual employees working under these leaders would not be required to move. However, the company said all employment for future roles and lateral movements requires employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto.
“We are reestablishing our office culture because we do our best when we come together. We solve ideas more effectively, creatively, and move much faster,” Nicole wrote in the letter.
Nicole said affected workers who choose to move will be eligible for a one-time voluntary exit program with cash payments.
While many workers have grown to enjoy working from home during the pandemic, the call for workers to return to their offices full time has grown over the past year. Major employers such as Amazon, AT&T, and the federal government require employees to work on the company’s website five days a week. Competition for a full recruiting job is fierce.
Starbucks spokeswoman Lori Torgerson said there is no count of employees currently working as “people leaders” or working remotely. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but includes coffee roasters and warehouse staff.
Nicole didn’t have to move to Seattle when he was hired to lead the Starbucks last August. Instead, the company said it would set up an office near its home in Newport Beach, California, and help it use its corporate jets to commute to Seattle.
Since then, Nicole has bought a house in Seattle and is frequently seen at the company’s headquarters, Trugerson said.
AP Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed from New York.
Original issue: July 14th, 2025, 2:07pm EDT
