The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
Its no secret that corporate and individual giving plays an increasingly significant role in employee satisfaction, providing top talent with pride and a sense of purpose. As a result, many companies, including startups, are finding flexible ways to match funds, allowing people to donate in flexible ways that ignite them and their passion.
In 2023, Americans gave over $557 billion to charities from individuals, foundations, and corporations. However, according to a 2023 study from Ipsos Global Trends, 72% of consumers are concerned that in the future, governments and public services wont look after citizens, thereby widening the large gap nonprofits must step in to fill.
Where to donate?
When the need is vast, the priorities unclear, how do people, communities, and organizations decide where to donate? I wrote about values-based philanthropy and how it is foundational to ensure impact. From the donor who shows up consistently with $20, to the recognized philanthropist changing the game, like MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates, values alignment is the first step in generating trust, an intrinsic component to philanthropy.
It is also a way for companies to live their values and engage stakeholders, employees, and consumers.For example, over the years Google employees have participated in annual flu shot campaigns. Google asked employees to donate to UNICEF when they received a flu shot, supporting UNICEF in providing routine immunizations for children outside the United States. Google matched employee donations and the campaign raised over $800,000. The funds supported programs to immunize Syrian children in Iraq, Rohingya children in Bangladesh, and Brazilian children residing in the most remote areas of the Amazon.
Google has also been a critical emergency giving partner of UNICEF. Employees have donated millions of dollars over the years through its workplace giving program to support UNICEF’s humanitarian response efforts globally.
Flexible funding
Flexible funds allow charitable organizations to more equitably allocate money where it is most needed. Yet, many partners like to have a say in where their money goes. Weve had some partners split their support, with a percentage going to a specific emergency or program area while the rest supports flexible funding.
Baxter International Foundation, for example, has supported UNICEFs water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programming since 2020, based on the shared values around access to clean, safe water for all children. Our trust-based partnership demonstrates that leveraging cross-sectoral expertise creates meaningful community health and impact as we work toward our goal of a more equitable world for children. The Foundations leadership was so inspired by our vision and impact, that it approved an additional grant to our Every Child Fund in 2023, for three years of flexible funding.
Aligning philanthropic efforts with a companys values and employee passions creates a sense of purpose, deep engagement, and retention. Innovation and competition are the fuel of the corporate sector and our partners proudly show that they are leaders in these areas.
As the need for philanthropic support continues to grow, companies can embrace and live out their values in an era where employees increasingly seek purpose-driven work environments. Companies that integrate giving into their core values and operations will likely see the greatest returnsboth in employee satisfaction and societal impact.
Michele Walsh is executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer of UNICEF USA.
The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
The emergence of generative AI and digital transformation has redefined customer-company relationships, empowering consumers like never before. As argued in a previous article I wrote, today’s customer is no longer a mere segment or target consumer, but a brand seeking vendors to help create their unique identity. Companies must now redefine their value propositions to meet these evolving expectations.
In recent years, we’ve seen digital platforms like NikeID and physical innovations like Coca-Cola Freestyle allow consumers to customize products within company-defined parameters. This trend towards bespoke experiences is expanding, with companies offering customers greater control in exchange for premium pricing and individualized experiences.
Droz: A case study in radical co-creation
During a recent visit to Switzerland, I witnessed a remarkable example of customer-company co-creation at Jaquet Droz, a luxury watchmaker established in 1738. Now part of the Swatch Group, this Maison has embarked on a radical journey embracing customer collaboration.
Led by CEO Alain Delamuraz, Jaquet Droz launched the “JD 8.0: A Disruptive Legacy” strategy, focusing on creating unique pieces in partnership with customers. The company took the bold step of dismantling its retailer network to work directly with clients.
Jaquet Droz built specialized collaboration studios where customers can discuss their desired pieces with artisans. These state-of-the-art facilities allow for real-time interaction and step-by-step follow-up throughout the production process, even down to selecting specific colors for the timepiece. This collaboration may last as long as a year to ensure that the customers exact vision is captured to the level of a shade of a color. While the customer is not an expert on watchmakingthis is what Jaquet Droz brings to the tablehe is the ultimate expert on his preferences and wishes. For such a storied brand to be willing to collaborate so deeply with its customers and enable their dreams requires a great deal of humility and a clarity of the customers role in their existence.
High-profile collaborations
When Bon Jovi wanted to commemorate the bands 40th anniversary, it was the unique co-creation collaboration with Jaquet Droz team that resulted in Tourbillon Skelet Red GoldBon Jovi. When a Canadian customer and a Rolling Stones fan wanted to ensure that his love for the music is alive every day, The Rolling Stones AutomatonExile on Main Street was created especially for them. For a brand that started its journey in music by crafting special chirping bird clocks for European elite, crafting music-related timepieces was a natural continuation of its legacy. But their co-creation does not stop with music. From nature-related timepieces to top of the line Tourbillon complications , the company is fully dedicated to fulfilling its customers dreams.
The courage to innovate
Jaquet Droz’s decision to cease working with retailers and boutiques in favor of direct customer engagement was both courageous and risky. This move provided the freedom to focus entirely on individual client needs, setting a new standard in the luxury watch industry.
While some may argue that this level of collaboration is a privilege reserved for the wealthy, the example set by Jaquet Droz is likely to inspire other companies to find ways to democratize the customer co-creation model.
How can you start a co-creation process with your customers? Here are few steps to consider:
Mindset first: Adapt to the fact that your customers are brand owners with district opinions, not just consumers of your end products.
Curious listening: Redesign your discovery process to ask different questions and seek design guidance.
Transform to a tool kit: Consider your expertise and skills as part of a toolbox available to craft solutions with your customers not for them.
Design collaborative space: Like Jaquet Droz, create dedicated spaces that will foster collaboration and reciprocal dialogue.
Joint journey management: Include your customer input throughout the creation journey. Adapt as needed based on feedback.
One-of-a-kind creations: Focus on creating solutions that will reflect not just the customer needs, but their brand as well.
Share credit: Ensure that your customers contribution to the creation is respected and expressed in the final product.
Ongoing support: The sales are never over as you keep on updating the solution as technology evolves and the customers expectations shift.
Charge accordingly: Co-creation does not mean you need to lose money. It should lead to a perfect solution at a premium price over the one-size-fits-all sold today.
One-of-a-kind story: While your deep knowledge of the processes and production are evident, respect that your customers will know best what they desire and what story they want to craft for themselves. Those stories reflect their identity and therefore will always be one of a kind.
Customer co-creation is here to stay. As more manufacturers explore bespoke offerings, Jaquet Droz’s commitment to collaborationevidenced by their new studios and direct-to-consumer approachestablishes a path forward for the industry.
The bold steps taken by this watchmaker demonstrate that sometimes, to move forward, companies must take risks and reimagine their entire business model. As this trend continues, we can expect to see more innovative approaches to customer collaboration across various industries, potentially making co-creation accessible to a broader audience.
Lior Arussy is a global transformation expert and the author of Dare to Author!
A first-of-its-kind project will use a swarm of small, independent submersibles to monitor, protect and provide data on offshore artificial reefs whose purpose is to attract new marine life in otherwise barren sections of sea, officials said Monday.
The small, autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, hailed as the future of underwater surveillance will be equipped with sensors and high-definition cameras to give scientists at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute a clear picture on the effectiveness of their intricate artificial reefs designed and built using 3D printing.
Made of an environmentally friendly cement mixture, the artificial reefs will be embedded with a docking station at which the AUVs can recharge and transmit collected data including video, said CMMI CEO Zakarias Siokouros.
The advantage of the AUVs lies in their ability to loiter underwater for as long as a month at a time and provide a continuous flow of data while protecting the reefs by alerting scientists to any disturbance in protected waters from illegal fishing and encroaching boats. Scientists would, in turn, notify local authorities.
A trial run of the project, dubbed EONIOS, is currently underway off Cyprus Ayia Napa marina. Scientists plan to place the artificial reefs in waters off Cyprus southern coastal town of Limassol at a depth of around 20 meters (66 feet) where sunlight can still reach the seabed.
The reefs attract everything from vegetation to large fish and for waters off Cyprus where there isnt enough food for fish, we aim to create the appropriate environment to bring such fish there, Siokouros told The Associated Press following a demonstration of the AUVs’ capabilities at the Ayia Napa Marina.
EONIOS is a partnership between the CMMI, AUV makers Arkeocean of France, Cypriot tech company SignalGeneriX and French consultancy company Lanego.
Siokouros said the partnership aims to market EONIOS to other countries who would want to build up their fish stocks using artificial reefs.
A key selling point for the AUVs is that they can provide surveillance, 3D data collection and area protection at a significant discount compared to tethered submersibles, said Arkeocean official Tamara Brizard.
Our goal is to make a system under which six of our mini-drones can do the same work for the price of one conventional drone, Brizard said.
Arkeocean AUVs can currently pack a maximum 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of sensors and other gear and can operate to a depth of 300 meters (984 feet) although newer versions are being designed to reach 3,000 meters (9,842 feet). The AUVs receive commands through an attached acoustic antenna and can pinpoint their location.
Battery-powered thrusters make the AUVs very stealthy and nearly undetectable, Brizard said, making them extremely useful for defense purposes such as surveillance in restricted waters. The AUVs can operate anywhere in the world thanks to an Iridium satellite antenna.
The AUVs can also use undersea currents to roam, extending battery life. Another application is in the energy field where the submersibles can be used to detect seismic activity for offshore oil and gas exploration as well as finding suitable areas on which to build offshore wind and solar farms, said Brizard.
Menelaos Hadjicostis, Associated Press
Elon Musk is in hot water with our Canadian neighbors to the north.
A parliamentary petition with 200,000 signatures and climbing is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to revoke Musks Canadian citizenship and passport for threatening Canada’s sovereignty by engaging in activities that go against the national interest.”
The British Columbia author Qualia Reed launched the petition in Canadas House of Commons, where it was sponsored by parliamentary member Charlie Angus over the weekend, as reported by the Canadian Press.
Musk was born in South Africa, but obtained Canadian citizenship in 1989 through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Saskatchewan. The SpaceX CEO and current adviser to President Trump then went on to become a U.S. citizen in 2002.
Like a growing number of Americans, many Canadians have had enough of Musk’s alliance with Trump and his extreme interference at the highest levels of American government. Canadians are also angered by the continued threats to slap high tariffs on goods from our longtime trading partner and ally, along with Trump’s outrageous calls to make Canada our 51st state.
The petition, launched on February 20, only needed 500 signatures for presentation to the House of Commons to garner a formal government response. It calls on Trudeau to revoke Musks Canadian citizenship status and his Canadian passport “effective immediately.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said last week hackers had stolen digital tokens worth around $1.5 billion, in what researchers called the biggest crypto heist of all time.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the crypto was taken from a “cold wallet” – a digital wallet usually stored offline and so supposedly more secure – that was used for ether tokens.
Blockchain research firm Elliptic said the hack was more than double the last-biggest crypto heist and “is almost certainly the single largest known theft of any kind in all time.”
The crypto industry has suffered a series of thefts, prompting questions about the security of customer funds, with hacking hauls totalling more than $2 billion in 2024 – the fourth straight year where proceeds have topped more than $1 billion.
Here are some of the other major thefts to have plagued the industry since bitcoin was born in 2008.
Poly network
Hackers stole around $610 million in August 2021 from Poly Network, a platform that facilitates peer-to-peer token transactions. The hackers behind the heist later returned nearly all of the stolen funds.
The hack underscored vulnerabilities in the burgeoning decentralised finance – DeFi – sector, where users lend, borrow and save in digital tokens, bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of finance such as banks and exchanges.
Ronin Network
Hackers stole cryptocurrency worth – at the time of the hack – around $540 million from a blockchain project linked to the popular online game Axie Infinity in March 2022.
Ronin, a network that allows the transfer of crypto coins across different blockchains, said that hackers stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens.
Coincheck
In January 2018, hackers stole cryptocurrency then worth around $530 million from Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck. The thieves attacked one of Coincheck’s “hot wallet” – a digital folder stored online – to drain the funds, drawing attention to security at exchanges.
South Korea’s intelligence agency said at the time that a North Korean hacking group may have been behind the heist.
Mt. Gox
In one of the earliest and most-high profile crypto hacks, bitcoin worth close to $500 million dollars was stolen from the Mt.Gox exchange in Tokyo – then the world’s biggest – between 2011 and 2014.
Mt.Gox, which once handled 80% of the world’s bitcoin trade, filed for bankruptcy in early 2014 after the hack was revealed, with some 24,000 customers losing access to their funds.
Wormhole
DeFi site Wormhole was hit by a $320 million heist last month, with the hackers making off with 120,000 digital tokens connected to the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether.
The crypto arm of Chicago-based Jump Trading, which had the year before acquired the developer behind Wormhole, later replaced the funds “to make community members whole and support Wormhole now as it continues to develop.”
Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft, Reuters
Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who ran unsuccessfully for office and gained fame as a conservative pundit with TV shows and a popular podcast, has been chosen to serve as FBI deputy director.
President Donald Trump announced the appointment Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as a man of incredible love and passion for our Country. He called the announcement great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice.
The selection places two staunch Trump allies atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency at a time when Democrats have raised alarms that the Republican president could seek to use the FBI to target his adversaries. Bongino would serve under Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist who was sworn in as FBI director at the White House on Friday and who has signaled his intent to reshape the bureau, including by relocating hundreds of employees from its Washington headquarters and placing greater emphasis on the FBI’s traditional crime-fighting duties.
The deputy director serves as the FBI’s second-in-command and is traditionally a career agent responsible for the bureau’s day-to-day law enforcement operations. The position does not require Senate confirmation. But Bongino, like Patel, has never served in the FBI, raising questions about their experience level when the U.S. is facing escalating national security threats.
Natalie Bara, president of the FBI Agents Association, wrote in an internal newsletter to members sent Sunday before Bongino’s selection was announced that Patel had agreed during a January meeting with her that the FBI deputy director should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population.
The two are inheriting an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Bongino served on the presidential details for then-Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, before becoming a popular right-wing figure. He became one of the leading personalities in the Make America Great Again political movement to spread false information about the 2020 election, which Trump and allies have continued to maintain was marred by widespread fraud even though such claims have been widely rejected as false by judges and former Trump attorney general William Barr.
For a few years following Rush Limbaugh’s death in 2021, he was chosen for a radio show on the same time slot of the famous commentator.
Bongino worked for the New York Police Department for several years in the 1990s before joining the Secret Service. He began doing commentary on Fox News more than a decade ago, and had a Saturday night show with the network from 2021 to 2023. He is now a host of The Dan Bongino Show, one of the most popular podcasts, according to Spotify.
Bongino ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in 2012 and for congressional seats in 2014 and 2016 in Maryland and Florida, after moving in 2015. He lost the three races.
During an interview last fall, Bongino asked Trump to commit to forming a commission to reform the Secret Service, calling it a failed agency and criticizing it for the two assassination attempts last year.
That guy should have been nowhere near you, Bongino said about the man who authorities say camped outside Trumps golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, before he was spotted with a rifle.
During the same interview, Trump praised the Secret Service agent who saw the rifles barrel coming out of a bush.
Patel and Bongino will succeed the two acting FBI leaders, Brian Driscoll and Rob Kissane, who have led the bureau since the departure in January of former Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 and held the job for the next seven years before resigning at the end of the Biden administration to make way for his chosen successor.
Adriana Gomez Licon and Eric Tucker, Associated Press
Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report.
The ubiquitous food delivery app DoorDash will pay almost $17 million to settle claims that it unfairly used customer tips to subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York City, rather than letting drivers keep the tips on top of their guaranteed pay, Attorney General Letitia James said Monday.
James said DoorDash used the wage model between May 2017 and September 2019. The company would guarantee workers a base payment for each delivery but was factoring tips into that equation, only paying workers for whatever the tips didn’t cover, according to the attorney general.
DoorDash also did not make it clear to customers that their tips were being used to offset worker wages, said James, a Democrat.
This is just fundamentally unfair, she said at a news conference in Manhattan. Customers had no reason to believe that these tips were being used by DoorDash to reduce its costs.”
The company will pay $16.75 million in restitution that will be distributed to DoorDash workers who made deliveries between May 2017 and September 2019 in New York. Eligible workers will be contacted by a settlement administrator.
In a statement, DoorDash said, “While we believe that our practices properly represented how Dashers were paid during this period, we are pleased to have resolved this years-old matter and look forward to continuing to offer a flexible way for millions of people to reach their financial goals.
The company said the old pay model is no longer in use.
Donald Trump could be about to escalate the trade war with China. A proposal, unveiled Friday, would slap fees on any Chinese-built vessels, as well as Chinese shipping companies, that enter U.S. ports.
That could bring in millions of dollars to the government, but just like the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods Trump has imposed, that move would likely result in even higher prices for consumers (as well as possible retribution from China on U.S. imports).
The fees are unprecedented and are meant to chip away at Chinas dominance in the shipping space. In 2023, more than half the worlds commercial ships were built in China and many large U.S. retailers depend on the country for goods.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but with consumers still trying to figure out how much tariffs will increase their day-to-day expenses, this adds another layer of financial concern. Heres where things stand now.
What is the Trump administration proposing?
The Office of the United States Trade Representative is proposing fees of up to $1.5 million per port call for Chinese-made vessels. The fleets of most shipping companies typically contain Chinese-made ships, given that countrys widespread reach in the industry.
Shipping companies with fleets that have 50% or more Chinese-built vessels would face fees of up to $1 million per U.S. port call. Operators with fleets comprised of 25% to 50% Chinese-built vessels would pay up to $750,000 per call. For operators with a fleet that has 25% or fewer Chinese-made ships, the fee would be $500,000 per call.
Making stops at multiple ports, which many ships do, could result in multiple port fees.Virtually all international shipping companies would be somewhat affected. The largest would likely be Cosco, a Chinese company that’s the worlds biggest shipping company in terms of capacity.
When would these fees go into effect?
The proposal is currently in a public comment period through March 24. Once that has closed, the administration will decide whether to implement the new fees.
Why is the Trump administration considering imposing port fees?
The potential fees come following an investigation that began during the Biden administration, looking into whether China was involved in unfair practices in the logistics and shipbuilding industries. On January 17, the U.S. Trade Representative issued a finding that called Chinas targeting of the sector unreasonable, adding Beijings targeted dominance of these sectors undermines fair, market-oriented competition, increases economic security risks, and is the greatest barrier to revitalization of U.S. industries, as well as the communities that rely on them.
How much would this impact shipping costs?
The increased cost for maritime shipping companies could be substantial. Lars Jensen, CEO of Demark-based Vespucci Maritime, which advises shipping companies, tells the Wall Street Journal that container ship costs will increase tenfold.
That comes on top of the cost surges of the past several months. Last July, the cost to ship a 40-foot container of products from Shanghai to New York jumped as high as $10,000. Those have since eased back, with the Drewry World Container Index now putting the price at $5,126 for the week ending February 20 (which is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic rates).
Why dont companies use U.S.-built commercial ships?
There really arent many commercial shipbuilders in the U.S. China is, by far, the market leader for that category (an area once dominated by Western nations). Ships that arent built in China, which accounts for 51% of the shipbuilding industry, generally come from South Korea (26%) or Japan (14%). Europe accounts for 5% of the total.
The U.S. shipbuilders that are still around largely focus on making ships for the U.S. Navy and have struggled to find workers.
How much will the port fees impact retail prices?
The ultimate impact port fees will have on retail prices will depend on how this proposal unfolds. Port fees, however, are generally passed down from carriers to shippers (generally retail businesses), which ultimately pass along the cost to consumers.
As far as which industries and products would be affected, its likely to be a wide swath. This would be essentially a tax on many imported goods, regardless of their point of origin. Manufacturing is likely to be heavily impacted, as are automakers and consumer electronic companies and, basically, any business that relies heavily on global supply chains.
Retailers that sell items including apparel, shoes, toys, furniture, electronics, and household appliances are also likely to feel the impact of port fees. Grocery stores may, as well, since so many food products come from other countries.
On Saturday evening, a group of Yosemite National Park employees hung an upside-down American flag 3,000 feet in the air, at the top of El Capitan summit. The display was absolutely not missed. It happened in the midst of this year’s Firefall at Horsetail Fall, a popular event at the Mariposa County, California, national park, when between mid- to late February, the waterfall begins to light up 5 to 15 minutes before sunset, looking almost like molten lava.
Hundreds of photographers and observers were in the park when the upside-down flag, known as a “distress flag,” according to American flag codea sign that something is desperately wronghung from the mountain top. The act came shortly after Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fired more than 1,000 National Park Service rangers amid drastic cuts to the federal budget.
The message was clear: America’s parks are in trouble.
Were bringing attention to whats happening to the parks, which are every Americans properties,” Gavin Carpenter, a maintenance mechanic at the park, told the San Francisco Chronicle. Carpenter was central to the employees pulling off the feat, supplying the flag and helping to get it to the top of El Capitan. “Its super important we take care of [the parks] and were losing people here, and its not sustainable if we want to keep the parks open,” Carpenter told the paper.
National Park Service rangers are massively important to the preservation of our national parks. Their duties range from running programs and camps for children to maintaining the cleanliness and upkeep of trails, as well as staffing visitor centers and helping to keep visitors safe from wild animals and other dangerous natural elements. But as DOGE’s federal firings continue, many are expressing huge concerns over how parks will be maintained if there are not enough employees to manage them.
Some parks have already begun trimming their hours, cancelling tours and other events, and closing visitor centers. In a post on Facebook, which has garnered more than 20,600 comments, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Florissant, Colorado, announced it would be forced to cut hours.
“Due to a lack of staffing, effective Monday, February 24, 2025, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. There will be no access to the visitor center, trailhead parking, or public restrooms,” the post read.
Social media posts from devastated park employees who have been let go in recent weeks have gone viral, too. I am absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated to have lost my dream job of an education park ranger with the National Park Service this Valentines Day, former ranger Brian Gibbs wrote in a February 14 post on Facebook. “My position was ripped out from under my feet after my shift was over at 3:45 p.m. on a cold snowy Friday.
The post went on to detail the many irreplaceable roles of a national parks ranger: “I am my son’s ‘Junior Ranger’ idol . . . I am a college kids dream job . . . I am the smiling face that greets you at the front door . . . I am your family vacation planner . . . I am a voice for 19 American Indian cultures.”
DOGE’s alarming layoffs have not been limited to park workers. Last week, the administration also fired more than 300 National Nuclear Security Administration workers, then quickly rehired most of them over major national security concerns. And on Sunday, approximately 2,000 employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were informed they were being laid off. The majority of full-time staff were put on administrative leave.
Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees and eliminate hundreds of open and unfilled positions, CEO Brian Niccol said on Monday.
In a memo, Niccol said the cuts will remove duplication “to create smaller, more nimble teams,” and the company will inform employees who are being laid off by midday Tuesday. Starbucks, which has 16,000 corporate employees, said the cuts will not affect staff at cafés.
We believe its a necessary change to position Starbucks for future success, Niccol said in the statement. “Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity, and drive better integration.”
Shares of the coffee giant (NASDAQ:SBUX) rose nearly 2% on the news in midday trading Monday.
Like many fast-food chains and retail stores, Starbucks has been struggling with declining in-store sales as customers are less interested in the chain’s high-priced drinks. The cuts come just one month after the Seattle-based coffee chain reversed its popular open-door policy, which allowed anyone to sit in its cafés or use the bathroom without making a purchase.
Last week, Niccol told the Wall Street Journal he plans to speed up wait times and improve mobile ordering.
He also said Starbucks will be offering smaller menus in the future. According to Today.com, starting March 4, these 13 drinks will be off the menu:
Iced Matcha Lemonade
Espresso Frappuccino
Caff Vanilla Frappuccino
White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino
Java Chip Frappuccino
Chai Crme Frappuccino
Caramel Ribbon Crunch Crme Frappuccino
Double Chocolaty Chip Crme Frappuccino
Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crme Frappuccino
White Chocolate Crme Frappuccino
White Hot Chocolate
Royal English Breakfast Latte
Honey Almondmilk Flat White
The chain will instead focus on customer favorites like the new Cortado and will be bringing back the Iced Cherry Chai and Jalapeo Chicken Pocket this spring.
