Brewhaha: Turns out machines can't replace people, Starbucks finds

Starbucks, smarting from disappointing second-quarter earnings, says that trying to replace staff with machines was a mistake.

"Over the last couple of years, we've actually been removing labor from the stores, I think with the hope that equipment could offset the removal of the labor," said CEO Brian Niccol on the company's Q2 2025 earnings call. "And I think what we're finding is that was just – that wasn't an accurate assumption with what played out."

Niccol's remarks followed Q2 results that fell short of market expectations. The biz delivered revenue of $8.76 billion, up 2 percent, for non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.41, a 40 percent decline from a year ago. Both fell short of what Wall Street analysts were expecting, sending the stock down about 6 percent on Wednesday.

Starbucks has been reducing its headcount for the past two years even as ...