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Starbucks announces another pay rise for American employees. How much will Starbucks pay rise again?

Published: 2026-04-04 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/04, Starbucks, a global coffee chain, has once again proposed a "pay rise". But! This time the "pay rise" is still not aimed at the whole world, only in the United States. Starbucks said Tuesday that it will raise the minimum wage for all store partners in the United States to every one in October, according to a report by Business Insider, a US business media, on Aug. 3, local time.

Starbucks, a global coffee chain, has once again proposed a "pay rise".

But!

This time the "pay rise" is still not aimed at the whole world, only in the United States.

Starbucks said on Tuesday that it would raise the minimum wage for all store partners in the United States to $12 an hour from October, local time Business Insider said on Aug. 3, according to Sina Finance.

The "higher salary" decision was made because of severe labor shortages in a number of industries in the United States, such as catering, tourism and entertainment. Starbucks launched the decision in response to the shortage of workers in the US catering industry.

With regard to the extent of the "salary increase", according to the introduction, partners hired before July this year will have a salary increase of 5% and lifetime partners will receive a salary increase of 6%.

In addition, the plan also proposes that the minimum hourly wage in all US markets will be raised to at least $12 and in some markets to more than $15.

As stated at the beginning of the article, Starbucks is "once again" proposing a "pay rise".

In December last year, Starbucks already proposed a "pay rise".

In last year's "raise" plan, Starbucks raised its partner's salary by at least 10% and the starting salary of new employees by 5%, which was adjusted because Starbucks wanted to attract and retain employees.

According to an internal memo from Starbucks at the time, from December 14, 20, baristas, shift supervisors and cafe waiters who joined the company before September 24 could get at least a 10% pay rise. partners who have worked at Starbucks for three years or more will also receive at least 11% pay rise. in addition, the company has also raised salaries in various markets.

Last year's "salary increase" plan was also called "the largest salary investment in Starbucks's history". Unfortunately, the Starbucks pay adjustment is only aimed at the United States.

The US market is Starbucks' largest coffee retailer, and if there is a labor shortage, it will undoubtedly lead to great losses for Starbucks.

Not long ago, in Starbucks' third-quarter results for fiscal 2021, Q3 reported net revenue of $7.5 billion, up 78 per cent from a year earlier.

Starbucks 2021Q3 earnings report

The US and China, Starbucks' two largest markets, have returned to pre-epidemic growth levels, according to financial data.

In terms of the number of stores, there are currently 33300 Starbucks stores in 88 markets, of which 51 per cent are directly operated and 49 per cent are licensed.

Of the 33300 Starbucks stores, there are 15348 Starbucks stores in the US and 5135 in China, which together account for 62 per cent of the world's total.

The Q3 financial report also shows that Starbucks China has fully returned to its pre-epidemic store growth rate. In the third quarter, Starbucks China had a total of 5135 new stores and 4704 stores in 2020, an increase of 4.01% compared with the previous quarter. By implication, the number of Starbucks stores in China is showing an upward trend. And Starbucks' store opening pace in China has completely returned to that before the epidemic.

But Starbucks China's share of global revenue has declined, and Starbucks has taken "special" measures.

For example, for the US domestic market, Starbucks adopts the strategy of "optimizing and restructuring".

The strategy of "optimization and restructuring" is that Starbucks has closed unprofitable stores, while new stores will

It is carried out according to the characteristics of consumer demand.

For the Chinese market, Starbucks still adopts an "expansion" strategy.

According to the financial report, 2150 new Starbucks stores will be opened worldwide, with a net increase of 1100 stores worldwide and a net increase of 1100 in the Chinese market.

In addition, Starbucks also expected the total number of stores in China to reach 6000 by 2022, and Starbucks said that new stores in China would continue to provide high-quality store profitability and returns.

In the results, Starbucks lowered its forecast for Q4 in China and pinned its sales growth on the consumption potential of the domestic market in the United States.

In addition, there is a point of view in the market that Starbucks lowered its expectations for the Chinese market largely because Starbucks believes that the Chinese coffee market is highly competitive and that new players continue to pour into the Chinese coffee chain track. In this environment, its costs and fees will also rise, so performance growth will be limited.

In response, Belinda Wong, chief executive of Starbucks China, said: the volatility in the Chinese market is temporary and the company expects a non-linear recovery. In the long run, Starbucks is optimistic about sales in China. Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Starbucks, also said: "there should be no misunderstanding about how big and strong our business in China is now and in the future. Starbucks has unique advantages and can be successful in China in the future. "

Last,

Let's return to the issue that Starbucks partners in the United States can get a raise again.

Starbucks has not made any response to whether Chinese stores will carry out the measure after the implementation of the pay increase in the United States, and it is still unknown when Starbucks will carry out a "pay rise" in China.

* Image source: Internet

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