Do you work at Starbucks in Korea? Starbucks employees in South Korea have launched a large-scale protest against the overwork plan.

According to media reports such as TVBS News, Yahoo yahooy and Economic Daily, Starbucks employees in South Korea said they were overworked due to excessive workload and planned to protest on Wednesday.

Why did Starbucks employees in this place suddenly launch this protest?

According to relevant reports, the protest was triggered by the 50th anniversary promotion launched by Starbucks in South Korea at the end of last month, because Starbucks did not send enough manpower to celebrate its 50th anniversary. as a result, the already heavy workload of employees is more difficult to bear, so Starbucks employees protested, demanding that Starbucks in South Korea improve the working environment and provide better treatment and working conditions.

This will be the largest protest in Starbucks'22-year presence in South Korea, the report said.

According to public information, South Korea is Starbucks' fifth largest market in the world and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. As of the end of June this year, Starbucks in South Korea had 1574 stores and more than 18,000 employees.

South Korea's operating profit surged nearly 3/4 to 45.4 billion won ($39.5 million) from January to March, while revenue fell 6 per cent year-on-year in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

In March, South Korea's Starbucks proposed a major initiative.

South Korea's Starbucks said it would phase out the use of disposable cups and expects to use reusable cups in all its stores by 2025, in response to environmental themes and reducing landfills and carbon footprints.

Since June this year, Starbucks has launched a "cup cycle" program in South Korea, under which customers only need to pay a "small deposit" to get a reusable cup and return the cup to a contactless kiosk after use.

According to the news, 250 billion paper cups are used worldwide every year, while Starbucks in South Korea used 200 million disposable beverage cups in 2020. In order to completely stop the use of disposable cups in 1500 stores by 2025, while reducing carbon emissions by 30%, Starbucks said: it will increase hiring by 30%, that is, a 30% increase in manpower and provide more than 5500 jobs, if nothing happens. By 2025, Starbucks in South Korea will employ more than 23,000 people.

The proportion of disabled, middle-aged and women who have interrupted work due to childbirth is 5% of its 18,000 employees, and Starbucks of South Korea expects to raise that figure to 10% by 2025, the report said.

In addition, another noteworthy point is that Starbucks, a coffee chain, announced in July that it would withdraw from its joint venture in South Korea, sell part of its stake to its local partner E-Mart and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, and complete the deal within 90 days, upon completion of the Starbucks parent company's exit from Starbucks.

The simple understanding is that Starbucks withdrew from the Korean joint venture to develop the Korean market as a franchise, but Michael Conway, president of Starbucks International and Channel Development Group, pointed out that although Starbucks withdrew from the Korean joint venture, South Korea is still an important market for Starbucks.

In addition, Starbucks in South Korea is likely to make an initial public offering within four to five years, which is part of the GIC investment terms, local media quoted industry insiders as saying.

So far, South Korea's Starbucks has not made any response to the news that its employees plan to launch a mass protest.

* Image source: Internet

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