The franchise owner of Starbucks in the Middle East has laid off 2,000 employees due to boycotts resulting from the Gaza conflict.
US chain’s ties to Israel
The Middle East branch of Starbucks is letting go of around 2,000 employees at its restaurants in the area due to continued backlash against the brand’s connection to Israel. Israel-Hamas war.
The operator of Starbucks explained that the decision to terminate approximately 10% of its employees in the Middle East and North Africa was due to current business circumstances.
“The Alshaya Group, a family business based in Kuwait, has made the difficult decision to reduce the number of employees in their Starbucks stores in the region due to the ongoing challenging trading conditions in the past six months,” a spokesperson told the Associated Press.
reported by Reuters.
Alshaya manages around 1,900 Starbucks franchises across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
2007 takeover of Gaza.
Starbucks, along with several other Western companies, has faced backlash from pro-Palestinian advocates following Hamas’ 2007 control of Gaza.
The October 7th assault against Israel.
McDonald’s has been the subject of boycott efforts from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups due to their alleged position on the conflict. Other fast food chains such as Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut have also been targeted by activists.
novel coronavirus.
In January, CEO Chris Kempczinski of McDonald’s expressed that the company is experiencing a significant impact on their business in the Middle East and other regions due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.Israel-Hamas war
McDonald’s received boycott requests when a franchisee in Israel announced in October that it would provide complimentary meals to soldiers from Israel.
Blood said to be on Starbucks sign in N.J. town leads to fears of Israel-Hamas war hate crime
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Starbucks has stated on its website that the rumors of the company financially supporting the Israeli government and military are completely untrue. As a publicly traded company, Starbucks is obligated to disclose all of its corporate donations.
A staff member of Starbucks in Glen Rock, New Jersey discovered in Februaryred paint and antisemitic stickers
Police reported that the shop’s sign was connected to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Additionally, the Seattle-based company filed a lawsuit against Workers United for a pro-Palestinian statement they shared on the internet.
The information provided by The Associated Press has influenced this report.
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Source: cbsnews.com