How much will new Starbucks CEO's 1600 km commute to work via private jet cost?

New Delhi: Brian Niccol prepares to take the reins as Starbucks' new CEO next month, he will embark on an extraordinary daily journey, commuting an impressive 1,600 kilometers from his residence in California to the company's global headquarters in Seattle. This remarkable daily trek will be a notable aspect of Mr. Niccol's new role, as he bridges the distance between his home state and the hub of the coffee giant's operations. 

Niccol's long-distance commute

According to his job offer, Mr. Niccol will use a company plane to travel to work. Even on days when he's not travelling for business, he's expected to work from the Seattle office at least three days a week. This is because Starbucks has a flexible work policy that started in 2023, which allows employees to work from home sometimes but also requires them to work from the office regularly.

He will earn a base salary of $1.6 million every year. He can also get a bonus of $3.6 million to $7.2 million, depending on his performance. Plus, he can receive annual stock awards worth up to $23 million."

"This isn't the first time he's had a long-distance commute. He had a similar arrangement when he was the CEO of Chipotle in 2018. At that time, Chipotle's headquarters was just a short drive from his previous workplace in Colorado."

However, things changed when Chipotle moved its headquarters from Denver to California just three months after he took the job. Despite the change, he was able to make it work.

How much will Starbucks CEO's commute cost?

The cost of the new Starbucks CEO's 1,600 km commute to work via private jet is expected to be substantial. The most economical private jets, including Turboprops, Very Light Jets, or Executive Light Jets, cost approximately ₹2,15,000 to ₹2,85,000 per flight hour, leading to a weekly cost of around ₹12,90,000 to ₹17,10,000 for three flights. Midsize or Super Midsize Jets have a higher cost, ranging from ₹3,10,000 to ₹6,20,000 per hour, resulting in a weekly cost of about ₹18,60,000 to ₹37,20,000 for three flights. 

How CEOs get unique benefits?

A company spokesperson told CNBC, “Brian's primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center or out visiting partners and customers in our stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices around the world. His schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners."

Top executives often get special deals when they're hired because they have a lot of power to negotiate. This means they can get perks that regular employees don't get."

For example, Hillary Super, the new CEO of Victoria's Secret, gets to work from the company's New York City offices instead of its main headquarters in Ohio. This is a special arrangement that not everyone gets."

Not all CEOs get to make deals like this, though. Some have to work from the company's main office, just like everyone else.

Starbucks' remote work experiment

Some big company bosses, like Amazon's Andy Jassy and JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, want employees to come back to the office. But Starbucks is doing the opposite.

The reason Starbucks is letting its new CEO work from far away is because the company is struggling. Sales have gone down in the US and China, which are Starbucks' two biggest markets. This happened under the current CEO, Laxman Narasimhan.

The new CEO, Mr. Niccol, is a highly respected leader who has turned around companies in trouble before. When he was in charge of Chipotle, the company's stock price went up a whopping 773 percent.