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Starbucks Middle East Announces Job Losses Amid Israel-Gaza Boycotts

By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted March 6, 2024

AlShaya Group, the company operating Starbucks in the Middle East, announced plans to cut approximately 2,000 jobs

The cuts represent four percent of its 50,000 employees in the Middle East and North Africa region.

This decision comes as consumers boycott companies over Israel's conflict with Hamas, impacting sales and royalty payments.

The majority of the job reductions are expected within the Starbucks franchise operations.

Kuwait-based AlShaya said: "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.

"We will ensure that we give our colleagues leaving the business, and their families, the support they need."

The boycotts, spurred by perceived pro-Israel bias accusation - that Starbucks has denied - have affected the brand's performance in the region and internationally, particularly in the US.

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After suing the Workers United group, a staff union seeking rights, Starbucks faced additional scrutiny and loss of customers for using Starbucks’s name and logo in their solidarity with Palestinian people.

Starbucks's CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, said: "We see protesters influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for."

AlShaya has been the franchisor for Starbucks in the Middle East since 1999, overseeing the brand's expansion and operations in the region.

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