OSAKA -- Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. will introduce a stock option scheme for 1,400 of its 5,000-strong workforce, including part-time workers, the subsidiary of the major U.S. coffee chain said Thursday.
The scheme will be offered to part-time workers based on conditions such as length of employment, the company said. It is rare for a company operating in Japan to establish a stock option scheme, especially for part-time workers.
Stock option programs are intended to give workers incentives by allowing them to exercise an option to buy shares in their company at below-market prices.
The Seattle-based parent company earlier introduced two types of stock option programs -- one for executives and the other for rank-and-file workers.
Starbucks Coffee Japan currently operates a network of 208 coffee shops, which it plans to expand to 500 by March 31, 2004.