Longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz returned to the company as interim CEO Monday. Among his first actions was suspending Starbucks’ $20 million share buyback program to invest more profits in employees and stores.
Starbucks shares fell 5% on the news.
The pivot in strategy comes just three weeks after Starbucks announced that Schultz would be taking over the company’s top role until it finds a permanent CEO.
Schultz could be feeling some heat from a growing unionization effort.
Six of the company’s 9,000 U.S. stores have recently unionized, and at least 170 more have filed to hold union elections.
