A former Starbucks vice president has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, alleging she was fired for raising health and safety concerns about a new in-store equipment system that she says posed serious risks during testing.
The lawsuit, filed by Janice Waszak, claims Starbucks terminated her after she refused to misrepresent the performance, profitability, and safety of the company’s “Siren System”—a platform designed to allow baristas to prepare drinks in 40 seconds or less. Starbucks introduced the system to investors in 2022, touting it as a major driver of efficiency and profit growth.
According to the complaint, senior leaders were pressured to present overly positive data regardless of actual results. In March 2022, then–Senior Vice President Natarajan Venkatakrishnan presented the system to top executives, but two leaders challenged the financial projections, alleging the figures were false or misleading. By June 2022, both executives had left the company. Venkatakrishnan allegedly later told Waszak he was responsible for their exits because they opposed him.
The lawsuit details a live demonstration on October 27, 2022, during which maggots allegedly fell from the system’s milk dispenser and were discreetly removed by baristas to avoid alarming customers. Waszak later learned the maggots had bred inside the dispenser due to inadequate cleaning, reinforcing her concerns that the system’s complex design created health and safety hazards.
By mid-2023, Waszak says internal testing continued to show poor results, including improper cleaning of the milk dispenser. Team members allegedly told her they were reluctant to report accurate findings out of fear of retaliation. During a test on September 7, 2023, Waszak claims she witnessed the Siren System catch fire while in use at Starbucks’ Tryer Innovation Center.
After reporting these issues to company leadership, Waszak alleges she was terminated in retaliation. The lawsuit also claims sex discrimination, arguing she was fired for interpersonal behavior that did not result in termination for male colleagues. Starbucks’ own internal investigation reportedly found no grounds for her dismissal, raising broader questions about how companies handle internal dissent and whistleblowing.
