To the company it is “an adjustment.” To those people, it can be a devastating loss of healthcare, of the money they use to pay for food and shelter, and even an identity crisis. Starbucks has all sorts of positions, ranging from seasonal part time employees, to store management that gets paid pretty well, to corporate employees that presumed they were in 20y career trajectories. Every single one of them deserves better than losing their job just to pay for a big bonus for one guy.
It’s not about whether they are allowed or not. It’s that actions should have consequences but the modern corporate structure has so divorced leadership from the consequence of their actions that this is normal. Let me rephrase: Hurting people to pump your personal wealth is not just normal, it’s expected. That’s sick.
I don’t understand why you think it’s either/or? I didn’t say, “Starbucks is solely to blame” or anything of the sort. It’s incredibly stupid that living requires an employer, and that’s something we need to fix, but as long as it does they should act and be treated like they have the ethical responsibility they’ve been given.
Maybe you should stop giving people free passes for psychopathy just because it’s within the law.