June 4 (Reuters) - Starbucks ( SBUX ) on Wednesday

promoted its North America chief coffeehouse officer Mike Grams

to chief operating officer as part of a leadership reshuffle

aimed at boosting performance.

This is the latest in a series of moves from CEO Brian

Niccol, who took over the

top job

last year and has said he wants to return Starbucks ( SBUX ) to its

coffee house roots.

Niccol has promised a simpler menu and Starbucks ( SBUX ) cafes

going back to ceramic cups, offering refills and condiment bars,

while also reducing wait times to under four minutes. He has

also cut back on the company's deals and discounts, seeking

instead to broaden its marketing beyond loyalty program members.

"... our performance isn't yet where we want it to be,"

Niccol said in a statement on Wednesday, adding, "We're making

additional organizational changes to help bring teams closer

together, strengthen leadership accountability, and allow teams

to move with even greater clarity and urgency."

In April, the coffee giant reported disappointing global

comparable sales and profit for the second quarter, as inflation

and economic uncertainty increased costs and dampened U.S.

demand.

The company hired a new finance boss in March, tapping

retail industry veteran Cathy Smith for the role. This followed

an announcement in January that Starbucks' ( SBUX ) North America

president Sara Trilling and chief supply chain officer Arthur

Valdez would leave.

Trilling's role was then split, and Grams had assumed

the position of chief coffeehouse officer. In addition to

leading the company's cafes in North America, Grams will now

oversee global coffeehouse development and supply chain

operations, Niccol said in the statement.

Grams and Niccol are both former Taco Bell executives.

Starbucks ( SBUX ) said Grams' base salary will now be $900,000 per

year, up from $700,000 per year. His annual incentive bonus

target has been increased to 125% of his base salary from 100%.