Not working past 6 pm cost Starbucks CEO Narasimhan his job? Internet speculates

The internet is rife with speculations that Starbucks' Indian-originCEO LaxmanNarasimhan was fired after he claimed that in order to maintain work-life balance, he never worked past 6 pm.

Narasimhan was sacked by the coffee giant on Tuesday (Aug 13) and immediately replaced by Brian Niccol, chief executive at Chipotle. Soon after the ouster,Narasimhan's interview with Fortune magazinelast month, where he made the claim, went viral on social media.

"I am very disciplined about balance. If there's anything after 6 pm and I am in town, it's got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family," the 57-year-old said at the time.

"Anybody who gets a minute of time after that better be sure that it's important...Because if not it will just wait for another day," he added.

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'If you say something like that...'

Thenetizens started sharing the clippings of the interview and poked fun at the departing CEO whose statement came across as arrogant to some.

"If you say something like this when the stock price is doing well, you sound like a genius. But if it's not doing well...you get fired," said one user, while another commented: "Laxman is quite a fitting name"

A third added: "Was it not working past six or was it just a bad CEO not understanding the product or the environment? It’s hard to tell. Maybe it’s all of it. Maybe it’s one of it who knows."

Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan recently said that he doesn't work past 6pm and that if anyone at Starbucks gets a minute of his time after 6 pm they "better be sure that it's important."

He was just fired today. pic.twitter.com/ATEhYTFddB — Triple Net Investor (@TripleNetInvest) August 13, 2024

The fact that the (former) Starbucks CEO, who's paid millions of dollars, refuses to work beyond 6pm is hilarious. It's a much lower standard than the majority of Starbucks employees who work extra time to open up and close down restaurants for the day. https://t.co/Ucwd6FOpOL — Joseph Carlson (@joecarlsonshow) August 13, 2024

Starbucks has been under pressure from the investors as weakening consumer sentiment and difficult market conditions, especially in China, have heavily hit the revenue.

The American company is looking to turn around its business while contending with broad-based sales declines.

Notably, Narasimhan took over the reins as the CEO of Starbucks in March last year. .

(With inputs from agencies)