The outrage towards Starbucks emerged in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, where Israel has since killed at least 30,631 Palestinians.
Starbucks’ Middle East operator, AlShaya Group, is reportedly slashing more than 2,000 jobs after taking a hit from massive regional boycott movements in light of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Citing sources privy to the matter, the news agency said the job cuts had started on Sunday with most of the focus being on Starbucks’ regional operations. The cuts represent about four percent of the Gulf franchise’s workforce of almost 50,000, according to Reuters.
“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 in a statement cited by Reuters.
A Starbucks spokesperson told the news agency that the coffee chain “remains committed to working closely with AlShaya to drive long-term growth in this important region.”
Both statements fell short of mentioning how many jobs they will be cutting.
The major Gulf retail franchisee has owned the right to operate Starbucks in the region since 1999, running some 2,000 outlets in 13 countries.
The outrage towards Starbucks emerged in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, where Israel has since killed at least 30,631 Palestinians.
The coffee chain had sued Workers United, a workers’ union, for using their logo in posts supporting Palestine. Starbucks had accused the union of damaging its reputation while failing to take a clear stance since the beginning of the war.
Last December, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan condemned the vandalism of stores and escalating protests in the U.S. and abroad in an open letter to employees.
“While I am grateful for so much, I am concerned about the state of the world we live in. There are conflicts in many parts. It has unleashed violence against the innocent, hate and weaponized speech and lies — all of which we condemn,” Narasimhan wrote at the time.
“Our stance is clear. We stand for humanity,” he added.
Then in January, Starbucks announced a downturn in its annual sales forecast amid the increasing boycotts in the U.S. and the Middle East. Starbucks had informed investors of a “significant impact on traffic and sales” in the Middle East that extended to the U.S.
While Starbucks reported record revenue in the first quarter of 2024, it lowered its sales outlook for the rest of the year. The company said it expected its revenue to increase between seven-to-10 percent, a drop from 10-to-12 percent.
