Starbucks (SBUX, Financials) is experiencing disruptions in its cafe operations following a ransomware attack on a software supplier, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday; shares of the coffeehouse chain dropped modestly in response to the news.
The attack has affected the coffee chain's ability to manage employee schedules and process payroll accurately.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the outage at one of Starbucks' third-party vendors began late last week. As a result, cafe managers have been forced to manually calculate employee pay, disrupting how baristas view and manage their schedules and how the company tracks hours worked.
Starbucks stated it is paying employees for their scheduled shifts, which could lead to overpayments or underpayments depending on the hours actually worked.
“Keeping our partners (baristas) whole despite the outage continues to be our priority, and we're ensuring they will receive pay for all hours worked,” the company reportedly said.
The vendor outage has not affected Starbucks' customer service, according to the report.
Further details on the identity of the vendor or the timeline for resolving the outage were not disclosed.
Starbucks, on a separate note, also unveiled their Christmas menu, which features fresh food items and drinks. Among other seasonal selections, the menu calls for the return of the Peppermint Mocha and the introduction of Cran-Merry Orange Refreshers.
In leadership news, Starbucks has named Brian Niccol Chairman and Chief Executive Officer beginning Sept. 9. Previously heading Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG, Financials), Niccol is anticipated to guide Starbucks through its next phase of expansion and change.
