According to persons acquainted with the situation, the Gulf retail behemoth AlShaya Group, which controls the Middle Eastern rights to run Starbucks, intends to fire more than 2,000 employees as a result of customer boycotts connected to the Gaza conflict.
Anonymous sources revealed that the layoffs, which began on Sunday, affect around 4% of AlShaya’s staff of over 50,000 and mainly target the company’s Starbucks franchise in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to one of the persons, the company is facing difficult trading conditions as a result of the boycotts.
Without disclosing the precise number of jobs lost, AlShaya said in a statement, “Due to the persistently difficult 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.”
AlShaya announced its continued commitment to the area and its support for coworkers leaving the company.
A Starbucks representative told Reuters, “We want to thank the green apron partners who are leaving and our thoughts are with them.”
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The Starbucks representative continued, “The brand remains committed to working closely with AlShaya to drive long-term growth in this important region.”
AlShaya Group did not disclose the number of employees it employed at its brand’s operations, nor did the sources.
Founded in Kuwait in 1890, AlShaya, one of the largest retail franchises in the area, has the authority to operate locations for well-known Western brands such as Shake Shack and The Cheesecake Factory.
Since 1999, it has held the licence to run Starbucks locations throughout the Middle East. Approximately 2,000 Starbucks locations may be found in 13 countries, including the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.