Coffee for Chairman Xi: Why China is Important and Dangerous for Starbucks

In April, Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks for his third and what the company claims will be his final term as the chain's CEO. The company was in such a state as if it could do with a cup of coffee itself: sales fell due to the pandemic, shares fell.

The media wrote that every fourth barista was fired before he had time to move to the state and receive a rather generous benefits package. Trade unionism in the industry has always been weak, but at Starbucks it has become much more active in recent years, with more than 100 cafes applying to form unions. In response, Starbucks management promised to raise salaries and improve benefits for non-union employees. The regional office of the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of more than 200 labor violations. Some Wall Street analysts pointed out that for all these reasons, investors began to lose interest in the company.

A month later in office, Schultz told shareholders that the chain's management had re-evaluated all previous activities. According to an accompanying press release, Starbucks was poised to be "a really different company," and Schultz assured investors that the company was still "a promising business." Only, apparently, not in the usa .