Starbucks plans to hire 10,000 refugees after Trump action

Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, who wrote he had a “heavy heart” over American President Donald Trump’s immigration order, said the company plans to hire 10,000 refugees over five years around the world. Trump issued an order on January 27 suspending the admission of refugees into the US for 120 days and banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days. The directive has been criticised by US allies Canada and Germany. Starbucks is in direct contact with employees affected by the immigration ban and will do “everything possible to support and help them to navigate through this confusing period,” Schultz said in a letter to employees posted on the coffee chain’s website. Schultz also said he and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson will begin communicating with workers more frequently. Schultz said he strongly supported the “Dreamers” programme, designed to help immigrants who arrive in the US as children. Trump wants to build a wall on the border with Mexico and possibly pay for it with a 20 per cent tax on Mexican imports in a bid to stem illegal immigration. Schultz wrote that the company would “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.” Starbucks “will continue to invest” in Mexico, he wrote. (Nick Turner and Brian Louis/Bloomberg)