Starbucks' Middle East Franchisee Cuts 2,000 Jobs amid Boycott
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Starbucks' Middle East franchisee, the Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, has laid off 2,000 employees, constituting 10 percent of its workforce.
This move follows a boycott by pro-Palestine activists during Israel's war in Gaza, which targeted Starbucks and other Western brands like McDonald's.
The activists have blacklisted these brands due to their perceived support for Israel during the war on Gaza. Starbucks was specifically singled out after it took legal action against a workers' union for posting a pro-Palestinian message on social media.
Alshaya Group operates approximately 1,900 franchised Starbucks branches across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE. The group attributed the job cuts to the "challenging conditions" it has faced.
"In light of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have made the difficult decision to reduce the number of colleagues in our Starbucks MENA stores," the group said in a statement.
Despite Starbucks' claims of having "no political agenda" and not funding any government or military operations, the company has experienced a decline in sales in early 2024 and a significant impact on its Middle East sales.