US coffee chain Starbucks plans global tech centre in India, source says

‌US coffee ​chain Starbucks plans to set up a global capability centre (GCC) ‌in the southern Indian city of Chennai, creating roughly 800 jobs in the first phase, a government source ‌said on Monday. Starbucks, which has roughly 500 ‌cafes in India through its joint venture with Tata Consumer Products, did not immediately respond to a request for ⁠comment.

The ​move comes ⁠days after US pharmacy chain Walgreens signed a pact with ⁠the Tamil Nadu state government to establish a ​GCC in its capital Chennai, already home to ⁠tech centres of global corporates including Citi, Barclays and American ⁠Express. GCCs ​have moved beyond low-cost back-office support, with global business groups using these centres ⁠to support headquarters through higher-value functions such as finance and software ⁠development ⁠as well as research and development.