Mideast Starbucks franchisee is firing staff after being targeted in Israel-Hamas war boycott
The Middle East franchisee of Starbucks has begun firing staff at its coffee shops across the region after the brand found itself targeted by activists during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East franchisee of Starbucks said Tuesday it has begun firing staff at its coffee shops across the region after the brand found itself targeted by activists during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, a private family firm holding franchise rights for a variety of Western companies including The Cheesecake Factory, H&M and Shake Shack, issued a statement acknowledging the firings at its Middle Eastern and North African locations.
“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,” the statement read.
Alshaya declined to answer questions about how many employees it was firing. Reuters, which first reported the layoffs, put the number at over 2,000 employees. Many of its employees in the Gulf Arab states are foreign workers hailing from Asian nations.
