Starbucks is set to open its first 3D printed outlet this week, yet the company is also taking steps to reduce reliance on technology. According to CEO Brian Niccol, cutting the number of employees has not worked as planned, and Starbucks intends to decrease automation while hiring thousands of additional baristas, as reported by the Guardian. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve actually been removing labor from the stores, I think with the hope that equipment could offset the removal of the labor,” Niccol explained. “What we’re finding is that wasn’t an accurate assumption with what played out.”
“Equipment doesn’t solve the customer experience that we need to provide,” Niccol stated. Starbucks experimented with increasing staff at five locations after Niccol assumed leadership in September, and it plans to expand this initiative to 3,000 locations by the end of the year. Niccol admitted that this decision would raise costs, according to Reuters. “We’re banking on some growth to come with the investment in the labor and the store experience,” he remarked.
The New York Post characterizes this move as a significant shift in strategy, especially when many in the food and beverage sector are speeding up the adoption of automation to cut costs. Niccol also mentioned that Starbucks will scale back the deployment of its advanced Siren drink-making system, using it only in select locations. Additionally, Niccol has introduced changes such as simplifying the menu and having baristas write names on cups again. However, sales have not yet improved: the company’s results for the first quarter of the year were worse than anticipated, with global sales dropping 1% in the fifth consecutive quarterly decline, as reported by the Guardian. Its stock was trading down 6% just before the market opened. — new from Newser