Brian Niccol negotiated a deal whereby Starbucks pay for him to commute from California to Seattle in a private jet…
The new chief executive of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, was paid around $96 million after four months of work last year, one of the biggest compensation packages in corporate America.
Niccol, who took on the role at Starbucks last September, was not required to move to Seattle, where Starbucks is based.
Instead, the coffee chain agreed to cover temporary housing costs in the area as well as use of the company jet.
Between September and December last year, he claimed around $72,000 (£58,000) in expenses for flying between his home in southern California and Seattle.
Of this, around $19,000 (£15,000) was related to personal use of company aircraft.
He also got a $5 million (£4 million) sign-on bonus after his one-month anniversary with the company.
In their latest financial accounts, Starbucks said Niccol was a “highly sought-after, effective leader with a proven track record”.
If you were wondering why Starbucks coffee comes with a hefty price tag, this may offer some insight.
Thomas Fellows, the owner of CommenceAI, a company that uses AI to help businesses analyse efficiency, told Seattle-based Kiro 7 News: “It’s very unfair to your average worker (Starbucks) because he’s getting paid more than 6,000 percent more than the average worker and he hasn’t proven that he has turned around the company.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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