Starbucks brings back ex-boss to rescue chain

Troubled Starbucks has sacked its chief executive, handing the reins back to chairman Howard Schultz in a major restructuring initiative to pull the company out of a downward slide.

The move, coupled with plans to close some US stores and slow down opening new ones, comes as the world’s largest chain of coffee houses has seen its stock plummet 50% over the last year amid declining traffic in its domestic stores.