The company behind Starbucks in the Middle East has revealed plans for job losses, reported at 2,000, amid a consumer boycott linked to Israel’s war against Hamas.
Franchise owner AlShaya Group planned to lay off 4% of its workforce of 50,000 across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to the Reuters news agency which cited several sources.
The bulk of the jobs would go across the Starbucks franchise business, it reported.
Kuwait-based AlShaya said: “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have taken the sad and very difficult decision to reduce the number of colleagues in our Starbucks MENA stores.
“We will ensure that we give our colleagues leaving the business, and their families, the support they need,” the statement added.
The boycotts linked to the war have proved a drag on not only AlShaya’s business but also that of Starbucks itself as royalty payments are hit.
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The chain has faced protests outside the region too, particularly in the United States.
They are linked to suspicions of pro-Israel bias – a suggestion the company has denied, insisting it is impartial.
Activists of the group “Chicago Youth Liberation for Palestine” protest in support of Palestinians at a Starbucks branch in the city last December. Pic: Reuters
Some customers withdrew their custom after Starbucks took legal action in October last year against a staff group seeking union rights, called Workers United, who had used Starbucks’s name and a similar logo.
A post from the union’s social media account in October expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people before being deleted.
“We see protesters influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for,” chief executive Laxman Narasimhan later said in a message to staff.
It later revealed the extent of the damage to sales from boycotts after missing market expectations for its first-quarter results.
AlShaya has owned rights to operate Starbucks coffee shops in the Middle East since 1999.
