Starbucks' new CEO will have the use of a private jet from California to Seattle every week to meet its RTO rules
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- Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, plans to commute between California and its Seattle headquarters.
- Niccol has been granted the use of Starbucks' corporate jet to make this possible.
- The company requires corporate employees to be in the office at least three times a week.
Starbucks' new boss, Brian Niccol, appears set to join the ranks of so-called supercommuters by traveling nearly 1,000 miles between his home in California and the company's headquarters in Seattle.
In Niccol's offer letter, Starbucks said that he could stay at his home in Newport Beach and commute the 995 miles to the head office using the coffee giant's jet. The letter was made public in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from August 11.
It was previously unclear how often Niccol would be required to be in Starbucks' main office, but a Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC he would exceed the company's hybrid-work guidelines, which require staff to be in the office three days a week.
"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," the spokesperson said.
"His schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners," the representative added.
He has additionally been granted $250,000 a year in personal travel allowances, the SEC letter said.
It added that for up to three months after his start in September, Niccol would be reimbursed for the cost of temporary accommodation and provided a driver until he secured permanent secondary housing in Seattle.
The company said it would also set up a remote office in the CEO's hometown with an assistant of his choice.
His new position has a base salary of $1.6 million a year, with an annual bonus ranging from more than twice to over four times his salary, depending on the company's performance, another SEC filing detailing Niccol's employment terms said.
Niccol is set to receive a $75 million equity grant over the next three years to compensate for his departure from his role as the CEO of Chipotle, the August letter said.
He also gets a $10 million signing bonus and annual stock awards worth up to $23 million, set to be distributed starting next year, it added.
His total compensation package may reach $113 million, one of the highest such executive deals in history for a publicly traded company.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.