SBUX Starbucks Corporation

By Heather Haddon 

Starbucks Corp. has instructed employees to step up cleaning at its thousands of U.S. restaurants as the coronavirus epidemic gains ground.

The Seattle-based coffee giant earlier this week sent a memo to store employees instructing them to clean cafes more often and thoroughly. Employees were told to regularly sanitize door handles, chairs, tables and coffee bars, according to the memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Workers were also told to sanitize bathrooms and customer ordering machines frequently. In addition, employees were told to wash their hands frequently.

"We are increasing the frequency of our Starbucks cleanliness procedures and continue to take guidance from the CDC and our local health authorities," the memo states, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We want to do whatever we can to support our partners and customers."

Starbucks said the more intensive cleaning regiment should take about 30 minutes a day and should be performed during peak times. The company recommended that managers add up to 1% to their forecasted employee hours to handle the work.

The company also told workers to stay home if they are ill, keep their fingernails short and limit the amount of jewelry they wear. The chain offers paid sick leave for workers, a rarity among big retail and restaurant chains.

Starbucks runs 8,870 cafes in the U.S. and licenses 6,320 more to outsider operators.

The coffee giant said in a letter Wednesday it was restricting customers from bringing in their own cups for refills for now, but would continue to give 10-cent discounts to customers who do.

The company said it restricted all business-related travel through March 31, and has postponed large meetings.

The chain has been in regular contact with stores, including licensees across the globe, the company said.

"We are navigating this situation with nimbleness, learning and adapting as new information is made available," said Rossann Williams, Starbucks President U.S. company-operated business and Canada, in the letter to be distributed to employees and customers.

Analysts expect sales at U.S. restaurants to fall this year as the epidemic expands domestically and more customers avoid public places. Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that the epidemic poses a greater risk to restaurants than other sectors of the economy -- and exacerbates financial distress in an industry that was working to reverse stagnant traffic.

In China, where the new coronavirus emerged late last year, transportation and commerce largely shut down this year as cases multiplied. Restaurant chains such as Yum Brands Inc. sought to curb the loss of sales in China by offering more delivery to people staying home.

Starbucks closed more than 2,000 of its stores in China, its second-biggest market, during the peak of the outbreak there. The company said last week that about 85% of those stores had reopened.

The company also said Wednesday that it was canceling, due to the epidemic, its in-person annual shareholders meeting scheduled to take place March 18 at theater in downtown Seattle.

Washington state is among the places in the U.S. hardest hit by the epidemic. All nine deaths resulting from confirmed cases of the new virus have been in Washington. An Amazon Inc. worked in Seattle tested posted for coronavirus Wednesday.

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 04, 2020 12:35 ET (17:35 GMT)

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