CEO Brian Niccol tread lightly into the sensitive issues of unionization in a letter to employees. Niccol said that he deeply respects the right of the Seattle-based company's workers to choose to be represented by a union,

In a letter addressed to union leaders, newly appointed CEO Brian Niccol reiterated his respect for workers' right to unionise and his desire to engage in "good faith" bargaining. Niccol's statement comes in response to a letter from the union's bargaining delegation, which represents more than 10,500 Starbucks workers across nearly 500 stores.

Starbucks' new CEO Brian Niccol said on a letter on Tuesday that he "deeply respects" the right of the coffee chain's workers to choose to be represented by a union, and that he was committed to "engage constructively.

The shock announcement of Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol taking the helm of Starbucks following former boss Laxman Narasimhan’s departure was a much-needed jolt to the coffee giant’s stock: Company shares were up 22% the day after the news,

Liu’s appointment marks the second executive shake-up at Starbucks since Niccol took over as CEO in early September, following Michael Conway’s retirement after just eight months as North America CEO. That position will remain vacant as the company looks to fill a chief brand officer role to oversee product and marketing strategies.

It’s too early to get excited about Starbucks Corp.’s prospects for a turnaround even with a new chief executive officer in charge, Jefferies analysts said, assigning a rare sell-equivalent rating to the struggling coffee chain operator.