Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a letter to employees on Sunday that it will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, a response to President Donald Trump’s indefinite suspension of Syrian refugees and temporary travel bans that apply to six other Muslim-majority nations. The hiring would apply worldwide, he said.
Schultz has also previously shown agitation over Trump agenda concerning immigration, repealing former President Barack Obama’s health care law and restructuring trade with Mexico. The letter also affirmed that Starbucks would help support coffee growers in Mexico, provide health insurance to eligible workers if the health care law is repealed and back an Obama-era immigration program that allows young immigrants who were brought to the country as children to apply for a two-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit.
After Google CEO’s open appeal to it’s workers abroad to come back to the USA, this is another remarkable move reflecting the concerns of the corporate sector businesses risk facing a heavy blow when dealing with the Trump administration. Trump has met with CEOs at Ford, General Motors and Boeing and asked them to create jobs in the United States, while touting each announcement about new factory jobs as a success even if those additions had been planned before his presidential victory. However, this letter also shows that not all corporates in USA are taking Trump’s side which could affect his presidency in the long run.
Schultz added that Starbucks would aim to communicate with workers more frequently, saying Sunday, “I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack.”
