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Starbucks’ barista strike could undermine its turnaround plan

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Starbucks’ barista strike could undermine its turnaround plan


Danielle Kaye,Business reporter and

Natalie Sherman,Business reporter

Reuters A young female union leader in a black and red woollen hat is standing among other picketers outside a Starbucks. Some of the other picketers in the background are holding signs whose message is not visible in the image. The female union member in the foreground is holding a megaphone as if she is about to start speaking into it.Reuters

Starbucks workers attend a rally as they go on a one-day strike outside a store in Buffalo, New York, US, November 17, 2022.

Starbucks has been working hard to bring back customers, promising faster service and a return its coffeehouse roots, with ceramic mugs and hand-written notes.

But though sales show signs of perking up, the company is still wrestling with a years-long labour fight that threatens to hamper its turnaround.

Picket lines could greet customers collecting their morning latte at some US stores on Thursday, as the company faces another strike by unionised baristas, calling for better pay and increased staffing.

The walkout, expected to affect stores in at least 25 cities, is the third major strike to hit the company in the US since the union, Starbucks Workers United, launched four years ago.

Baristas and their union say the new turnaround policies, have only added to their workload.

“Every single day at this company, as of recently, has been very, very difficult to be a barista,” said Michelle Eisen, a spokesperson for the union, which says it represents workers at more than 600 stores in the US.

“You should not be evolving to the point of running your workers to the ground,” said Eisen, who worked as a barista for 15 years before leaving Starbucks this May.

Starbucks says it does not expect the strike to disrupt operations at the “vast majority” of its more than 10,000 company-operated stores in the US.

But the action, timed to coincide with Starbucks’ Red Cup day, a major holiday sales event, risks returning unwanted scrutiny to the company at a delicate moment.

Getty Images People use laptops inside of a Starbucks on January 14, 2025 in New York City.Getty Images

In recent years the brand has faced consumer boycotts, a wave of new competitors and a customer backlash over high prices, as well as turmoil in its leadership ranks.

The arrival last year of new chief executive Brian Niccol, a veteran of successful turnarounds at Chipotle and Taco Bell, raised hopes he could do the same for Starbucks. Investors sent the chain’s shares up 24%.

He quickly embarked on changes, part of what he called his “Back to Starbucks” strategy. He banned non-customers from bathrooms, enforced a stricter dress code for staff and re-introduced comfy seating that he said would help restore the chain’s appeal.

At the same time, Starbucks has outlined plans to invest more than $500m to improve coffeehouse staffing and training.

‘Building momentum’

Progress has been slow. Last month, Starbucks reported 1% growth in sales at global stores open at least one year – its first quarterly increase in almost two years. But in the US, sales were flat.

“We have more work to do, but we’re building momentum,” Mr Niccol said on a recent call with analysts.

But the new strategy has been accompanied by hundreds of store closures, thousands of layoffs and the sale of a 60% stake in its China business, and labour tensions have continued to fester.

Starbucks Workers United leaders say relations improved last year, but that contract discussions stalled when Mr Niccol – who was in charge of Chipotle when it faced complaints of labour rights violations – took the helm of the company last September.

Even after the two sides agreed to bring in a mediator in January, they remained at odds over pay, staffing and hundreds of unresolved charges of unfair labour practice.

Getty Images Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol with a sweater with a popped collar and blue striped button up shirt on May 28, 2025 in Dublin, Ohio.Getty Images

A union spokesperson said Starbucks has offered no pay raises in the first year of a contract, then 2% in the years following, which he said fails to account for inflation and the cost of healthcare. Baristas overwhelmingly voted down the contract offer in April.

The company, on the other hand, blames the union for stalled talks. The union’s demands for pay increases would “significantly affect store operations and customer experience”, Sara Kelly, the company’s chief partner officer, said in a statement last week.

“When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk,” Jaci Anderson, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said in a statement.

“Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail,” she added, pointing to low staff turnover rates, and pay and benefits, that the company says add up to an average hourly wage of $30.

Pressure on the brand

Unionised coffeeshops account for only about 5% of all Starbucks stores that are directly owned by the corporation in the US, but union organisers say they have added roughly 100 more stores over the last 12 months.

This continued stand-off could pose both an operational and a reputational risk for the firm, say analysts.

The brand had already shown signs of being under pressure, said Laurence Newell, managing director in the Americas for Brand Finance, a consultancy that tracks brand strength. Starbucks fell to 45th place in its 2025 annual ranking – its lowest level since 2016 – driven in part by a decline in its reputation among customers.

“Happy customers have to come from happy employees,” said Stephan Meier, a professor of business strategy at Columbia Business School. “You can’t do that top down.”

This week, more than 80 Democrats in the House and Senate sent letters to Mr Niccol, accusing Starbucks of “union-busting” and urging the company to bargain in good faith.

Joe Pine, management adviser and co-author of the “Experience Economy”, said Mr Niccol had a lot on his plate, but he was “surprised” that he had allowed the issue to remain unresolved.

“This would seem to be one of the first things you need to do: you need to have your people on board,” he said.



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Anthropic At $380 Billion Surpasses India’s Top IT Firms Combined As AI Fears Rock Stocks

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Anthropic At 0 Billion Surpasses India’s Top IT Firms Combined As AI Fears Rock Stocks


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Anthropic’s AI tools have triggered a sharp decline in Indian IT stocks like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, eroding Rs 3,11,873 crore in market value.

Anthropic's valuation surpassed combined value of total IT firms in India

Anthropic’s valuation surpassed combined value of total IT firms in India

The entire Information Technology (IT) industry in India is battering with the existential threat, which comes on the heels of rising generative AI, posing doubts over the viability of their business model.

Stocks of the IT industries, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, etc., hit brutally over the past week. This was triggered with the launch of new AI tools by Anthropic’s Claude for Cowork, which is like an office teammate helping the user to do tasks such as file sorting, reading legal drafts, etc.

Anthropic’s Valuation vs Nifty IT Index

Anthropic’s phenomenal valuation rise has surpassed the combined value of India’s top IT firms. Standing at a valuation of $380 billion, the US-based AI company has eclipsed India’s Nifty IT index, whose market cap was at $296.4 billion by the time of writing this report.

Investors are accelerating their exit from technology stocks as concerns intensify that advanced artificial intelligence tools could disrupt core segments of the global software and IT services industry.

This week alone, TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies dragged 9-11 per cent.

The sharp correction has wiped out substantial investor wealth. Based on intraday lows, the combined market capitalisation of the top five domestic IT companies has eroded by nearly Rs 3,11,873 crore this week.

TCS emerged as the biggest laggard, losing Rs 1,28,800 crore in market value, with its market capitalisation slipping to Rs 9,35,253 crore. The fall also pushed it to the fifth-most valued listed company from the fourth position.

Infosys has seen its market capitalisation shrink by Rs 91,431 crore following a 15 per cent decline this week. HCL Technologies has lost Rs 53,647 crore in market value over the past five trading sessions. Wipro and Tech Mahindra have also recorded declines, with their market capitalisations falling by Rs 22,762 crore and Rs 15,233 crore, respectively, during the same period.

Company Name Mcap ($Billion)
Tata Consultancy Services 107.4
Infosys 61.2
HCL Technologies 43.6
Wipro 24.8
Tech Mahindra 16.6
LTIMindtree 16.7
Persistent Systems 9.5
Oracle Financial Services Soft 6.4
Coforge 5
Mphasis 5.2
Total 296.4
Source: Bloomberg

Anthropic’s Recent Funding Round

Anthropic has recently raised $30 billion in Series G funding led by GIC and Coatue, valuing Anthropic at $380 billion post-money, as announced by the company in the press release.

The investment will fuel the frontier research, product development, and infrastructure expansions that have made Anthropic the market leader in enterprise AI and coding.

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IndiGo plans to hire over 1,000 pilots after December’s crew crunch – The Times of India

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IndiGo plans to hire over 1,000 pilots after December’s crew crunch – The Times of India


IndiGo, the country’s largest airline is set to go on a hiring spree, bringing over 1,000 pilots on board. This comes after the aviation giant faced massive operational disruption last December, when the company was forced to cancel more than 5,000 flights within seven days.The fresh intake will span trainee first officers, senior first officers and commanders. A recruitment notice shows the carrier is also ready to accept applicants without time on the Airbus A320, the workhorse aircraft across its network, ET reported.Under the updated framework, the number of landings permitted between 12 am and 6 am has been limited, while the mandatory weekly rest period for pilots has gone up.A review carried out by the irectorate General of Civil Aviation concluded that the airline had neither hired in line with the new rules nor accelerated its training capacity. This, the probe noted, resulted in pilots being stretched through repeated reassignments, lengthier duty spans and greater use of deadheading, in which crew are moved as passengers to operate flights elsewhere.

Stepping up expansion

A senior official, as cited by ET, maintained that IndiGo is now lining up a steady supply of cockpit crew to keep pace with rapid aircraft additions. The airline’s in-house system is currently upgrading about 20–25 first officers to captain each month. Now, alongside hiring, the carrier has begun adjusting its network planning to create more breathing space in daily operations. From almost no buffer in December, the margin has been raised to 3% this month. Standby crew availability has also been lifted to a minimum of 15%.Fleet expansion is continuing at a brisk rate, with roughly four aircraft joining the airline every month on average.Training remains a long lead activity. Trainee first officers require around six months before they are cleared to operate, while promotion to captaincy demands at least 1,500 hours of flying, though airlines may prescribe stricter benchmarks.While the regulator’s baseline requirement is three sets of pilots per aircraft, including one captain and one first officer, IndiGo’s intense utilisation levels push its need to well over twice that figure.Figures placed during the inquiry into the December episode showed the airline needed 2,422 captains but had 2,357.

DGCA findings

After the disruption, the watchdog stepped in with temporary relaxations, suspending night-duty restriction rules until February 10.In its assessment, the DGCA said there was an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which significantly reduced roster buffer margins.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the airline structured its crew schedules to extract the longest possible duty hours, leaning heavily on deadheading, tail swaps and stretched work patterns while leaving very little room for recovery. It noted that such planning weakened roster integrity and hurt operational resilience.



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Piyush Goyal Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Farmer Meet Video, Rebuts ‘Fake Narrative’ On India-US Trade Deal

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Piyush Goyal Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Farmer Meet Video, Rebuts ‘Fake Narrative’ On India-US Trade Deal


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The minister offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed ‘Rahul ji’s fakery’

Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. (File Photo: PTI)

Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. (File Photo: PTI)

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of orchestrating a “fake narrative” aimed at provoking India’s farming community. Responding to a video released on social media by the Leader of the Opposition on Friday, Goyal dismissed the interaction as a stage-managed performance featuring Congress activists masquerading as genuine farmer leaders. He asserted that the dialogue followed a predetermined script designed to mislead the public regarding the safeguards in the recent India-US trade deal.

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that “any trade deal that takes away the livelihood of farmers or weakens the food security of the country is anti-farmer”. He was pointing to the recently concluded India-US framework agreement for bilateral trade, which is expected to be signed after tweaks by the end of March.

Piyush Goyal offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed “Rahul ji’s fakery”, placing on record that the Narendra Modi government has fully protected the interests of annadatas, fishermen, MSMEs, and artisans. The minister categorically clarified that sensitive crops like soyameal and maize have been granted no concessions whatsoever in the agreement, ensuring that domestic farmers remain shielded from competitive pressure. He criticised the opposition for repeating “baseless allegations” in an attempt to instill unnecessary fear among the rural population.

Addressing specific claims regarding apple and walnut imports, the minister provided a technical breakdown of the protectionist measures in place. He noted that while India already imports approximately 550,000 tonnes of apples annually due to high domestic demand, the new US deal does not allow unlimited entry. Instead, a strict quota has been established, far below current import levels, and subject to a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Rs 80 per kg. With an additional duty of Rs 25, the landed cost of US apples will be roughly Rs 105 per kg—significantly higher than the current average landed cost of Rs 75 per kg from other nations—thereby ensuring Indian growers are not undercut. Similarly, for walnuts, the US has been offered a modest quota of 13,000 metric tonnes against India’s total annual import requirement of 60,000 metric tonnes, making it impossible for the deal to harm local producers.

Goyal also took a swipe at the historical record of the Congress party, pointing out the irony of its current stance. He reminded the public that during the Congress-led UPA era, India imported nearly $20 billion worth of agricultural products, including dairy items, which the current administration has strictly excluded from the US pact. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to explain his “betrayal of farmers” and questioned how much longer the opposition intended to peddle fabricated stories.

Concluding with the slogan “Kisan Surakshit Desh Viksit”, Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. He maintained that the India-US agreement is a balanced framework that opens new markets for Indian exports like basmati rice and spices while keeping the nation’s agricultural backbone secure.

News politics Piyush Goyal Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Farmer Meet Video, Rebuts ‘Fake Narrative’ On India-US Trade Deal
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