Starbucks announces massive layoffs

February 25th, 2025

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SGT
February 25, 2025

Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter

February 25th, 2025

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CURRENT EVENTS

Starbucks announces massive layoffs

Our take: Starbucks was originally a coffee wholesaler founded in the early 1970’s. Howard Schultz joined the company in the late 80’s, and was largely responsible for the growth of the company to a global giant in the coffee industry.

If you had told anyone in the 1980’s that people would someday happily wait 30 minutes to pay $6 for a cup of coffee, you probably would have been committed to a mental institution. Starbuck’s tapped into an unknown market, gourmet coffee, and has ridden the wave very successfully.

With that said, no business is immune to the business cycle. No matter what sector you are in or how well things go for you, at some point, things will tighten up, and change will become necessary.

Starbucks has been at that point for some time. Any company that employs over 350,000 people will at some point have to tighten the belt. The planned 1,100 corporate layoffs represent about 7% of the corporate workforce, a significant chunk.

Getting a cup of coffee has become an experience, like dining out or traveling. We don’t drink coffee so it is lost on us, but millions around the world love the experience. As the generations change, companies will need to change along with them, or they will go the way of Sears, Montgomery Wards, or A&P.

COURTESY: MSN

JoAnn Fabrics to close all stores and go out of business

Our take: JoAnn fabrics will close all it’s remaining stores and shutter the business for good in 2025. The eighty year old company originally sought Chapter 11 protection to reorganize the business and stay in business.

JoAnn had a great run, especially in a market such as fabrics and craft stores. Once the dominant name in the fabric market for DIY seamstresses and creative people, the changing demographics in the market were too much for them to over come.

The Baby Boomer generation was the last generation to embrace sewing and making clothes at a sustainable level. Generations X, Y, and Z are all much less inclined to whip out a sewing machine and create their next fashion masterpiece. Short of recreating the brand to offer new or different items, this outcome was all but inevitable.

We feel empathy for those whose jobs are impacted by this decision. We also feel joy for all the pre-teen kids who are now spared the energy sucking experience of standing around for what seemed like years as their mothers searched the sea of fabric bolts that stretched for miles throughout the store. Good times as a kid right there!

COURTESY: MSN

Millionaire boss shares 2 word rule for not being toxic

Our take: Micromanagement. We have all experienced it. Just the word invokes images of the hovering boss, incessantly asking for updates on tasks from big to small. It creates a toxic environment and is one of the fastest ways to disenfranchise even the most dedicated worker. If you want to see the effects of micromanagement, check out the classic movie “Office Space”, the movie responsible for “TPS reports” and “pieces of flair” earning their way into the pop culture lexicon.

Some bosses swear micromanagement is necessary for top performance. Not Roland Busch. The 60-year-old CEO of tech conglomerate Siemens prefers a more hands-off approach, and says the former can stifle autonomy and creativity at work. His two-word rule for leading his more than 300,000 employees effectively? "Don't micromanage," Busch said in the latest installment of LinkedIn's "This Is Working" series.

"Empowerment is not anarchy," he added. Even if you think, 'I would do it differently,' let them do what you believe they are good at — and accountability comes with empowerment." 

As a leader of people for over 3 decades, we have a standard statement to explain micromanagement. There are only 2 reasons to micromanage people. Either you don’t trust them, or you don’t think they are capable of doing their jobs.

Regardless which reason is the cause of the behavior, both require a deeper dive into the situation so you can come up with a permanent solution. Micromanaging people is not sustainable for the manager or the worker. You need to figure out why you feel it is necessary to do, and deal with the root cause of the problem before you both go crazy.

COURTESY: MSN

TIP OF THE DAY

There is nothing more important than your health. We all need to prioritize our health ahead of all other things in life. If you’re not healthy, not only can you not accomplish what you want to accomplish, but you can’t help others either. Eat right, exercise daily, get consistent sleep, and develop strong relationships with those close to you.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” - John Green

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