Starbucks reportedly raising salaried employee wages by 2%
Starbucks workers earning salary wages can look forward to a pay increase.
The coffee giant will offer an across-the-board 2% raise to its salaried workers, according to a report by Bloomberg. This will replace the previous system where managers decided whether and how much of a pay increase salaried Starbucks employees would receive.
Workers who will receive the 2% raise for the current fiscal year ending in September 2025 include corporate staffers, manufacturing and distribution employees, and store managers.
"(Customers)can see and feel the differences these investments are making," a Starbucks spokesperson told Bloomberg. "As we make these significant investments, we need to carefully manage all our other costs (and take) a consistent approach to merit increases across all teams."
Brian Niccol, the former Chipotle chief who took the reins at Starbucks in September 2024, is instituting a broad turnaround strategy that includes cost controls and changes to how the company manages its workforce.
[READ MORE: Starbucks' new strategy includes four-minute service, cozier cafes, simpler menu]
These include requiring corporate employees to work in the office a minimum of four days a week — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — starting in October 2025.
For workers who decide to opt out and leave the company instead of meet the new four-day requirement, Starbucks is offering a one-time voluntary exit program with a cash payment.
In addition, Starbucks, which in February 2025 asked all VP-plus leaders working remotely to begin relocating to Seattle or Toronto, is now extending the requirement to all support center “people leaders” who will be expected to be based in Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. Also, hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require partners to be Seattle- or Toronto-based.
Other workforce-related changes Starbucks has enacted during 2025 include:
- Implementing a generative AI solution designed to assist store associates with performing routine tasks at 35 stores during June, with widespread rollout planned starting fall 2025.
- Requiring employees to wear solid black shirts — short and long-sleeved crewneck, collared, or button-up — and any shade of khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. Previously, the employees, or “baristas,” were able to wear any colored shirt they wanted.
- Eliminating 1,100 existing corporate roles (employees who work outside company-owned stores) and several-hundred additional open and unfilled positions.
- Offer 18 weeks of fully-paid parental leave for birth parents, up from its previous benefit of six weeks.
According to Bloomberg, corporate workers only received 60% of their bonuses in fiscal 2024 due to Starbucks’ financial performance. Read more Bloomberg coverage here.
