Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz announced the company’s plan to hire 10,000 refugees in the next 5 years across the 75 countries where it does business.
The move comes in response to Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States.
In a letter to current employees on Sunday, Howard said the company would “start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.”
Starbucks has about 238,000 employees worldwide, 157,000 of whom work in the U.S.
Howard also directly addressed the potential effects that “proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes” might have on Starbucks’ business in Mexico, where it says it has nearly 600 stores:
“We stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans. But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same.”
He also reiterated the company’s past assurance to employees who purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that they “will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks,” even if the law is repealed.
Come through, Starbucks!
