Starbucks Middle East undergoes massive cull of jobs
Starbucks boycotts on a worldwide scale are having a significant impact as the coffee giant is posting record losses.
This was particularly noticed in the Middle East and North African region given that the Alshaya group, a retail franchise which owns the rights to operate Starbucks in the regions, announced plans to make 2,000 staff members redundant on March 3, American magazine Fortune reported.
Al Shaya currently has 50,000 people on their books, most of whom work at the American company.
In a statement, 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.”
Alshaya said it would support colleagues departing the business and that it remained committed to the region.
In December last year, American news outlet Bloomberg found that Starbucks posted a record $12 billion due to its perceived support for Israel at a time when the state is committing war crimes in the Palestinian territories, notably Gaza.
READ: Morocco’s Starbucks franchise denies closing
Shortly after Hamas’ attacks on Israel in October, numerous employees posted messages of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Those high up in the company distanced themselves from such endorsements much to the fury of dozens of pro-Palestinian activists.
Groups like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), a UK-based activist group, can often be seen outside Starbucks chains brandishing Palestinian flags and placards calling for the boycott, divestment and sanctions of “pro-Israeli” businesses.
Activists worldwide have argued that boycotts do work given the ostracisation of Starbucks and McDonald’s over recent months.
One campaigner noted, “Reminder that boycotting DOES work! And if you aren’t giving up Starbucks then you’re just selfish.”
McDonald’s have also fallen victim to boycotts after it was revealed that they were handing out free meals to the Israeli army.
Early last month, the fast-food empire recorded the first sales miss in nearly four years amid boycotts.
Both Starbucks and McDonald’s have denied taking sides with regards to the conflict in the Middle East.
Fortune/Bloomberg
