Starbucks crowns Global Barista Champion Nobuki, representing Japan (Starbucks)

BUCK THE TREND

Starbucks goes all in on human baristas after years of slashing the size of its workforce

The coffee giant crowned its first global barista champion on Wednesday, as it pivots away from automation with the rollout of a staff-focused service model.

Millie Giles

6/13/25 9:31AM

What makes a good barista? Extensive coffee knowledge? Intricate latte art? Spelling your name correctly?

According to Starbucks’ first ever global barista champion, Japan’s Nobuki — who beat 84,000 other contenders as he was crowned at the company’s Leadership Experience event in Las Vegas on Wednesday — the first step is a “sparkling smile.”

CEO Brian Niccol would agree. His plight to turn around the flagging company by hiring more in-store employees is centered on a bet that Starbucks is missing a human touch. The ex-Chipotle chief told the Financial Times, “We over-rotated on the idea of equipment and that replacing the humanity of service, and I think service is our point of difference.”

Ex (coffee) machina

Since taking the helm in September, Niccol has been heading a customer-service-focused “Back to Starbucks” strategy to return the world’s largest coffee chain to its coffeehouse roots.

On Tuesday, he told Reuters that Starbucks is accelerating the rollout of its new “Green Apron” service model to all North American stores by the end of summer — announcing to the ~14,000 store managers at the Vegas event that “the biggest human capital investment in connection in the history of Starbucks is about to happen.” For many Starbucks workers, this can’t come soon enough.

2025-06-13-starbucks-employees — Sherwood News

Since 2022, the company has slashed its workforce, moving toward automated equipment for efficiency. Based on our calculations, the company had an average of 26.8 employees per US company-operated Starbucks store at the time. By the end of fiscal year 2024, that figure was 19.8.

But now, Starbucks is doing a U-turn on automation, having halted the use of its high-tech systems in April. Though analysts have raised concerns about the cost of the in-person push, baristas at high-footfall branches will be buzzed: a Bloomberg survey last year found that only one-third of US Starbucks workers said stores were consistently well staffed.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

Hollywood Exteriors And Landmarks - 2025

1 year into the Switch 2, we might’ve seen the top of the console market

The Switch 2 launched on this day in 2025. Amid a rough year for consoles, Nintendo has logged a good one.

Max Knoblauch6/5/26