CONSUMER BOYCOTTS

Starbucks is shedding staff in North Africa due to Gaza boycotts

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024

Workers in Morocco and Egypt among those being laid off as consumers boycott the coffee shop chain and other US-based businesses.

The Starbucks coffee shop chain franchisee in North Africa is being forced to lay off workers due to a public backlash against US-owned companies in the region.

Photo: Dom J from Pexels

Alshaya Group, which has the master franchise for Morocco and Egypt, as well as for various Middle Eastern countries and Turkey, confirmed in a recent statement that staff would lose their jobs.

According to various – sometimes conflicting – media reports, around 2,000 staff spread across approximately 1,900 Starbucks outlets operated by Alshaya, are being laid off.

Starbucks is among several US-based brands that have been targeted for boycotts because of perceived support for Israel in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The brand has denied this and has had no outlets operating in Israel since the early 2000s.

Challenging trading conditions

In a statement reported by broadcaster CNN, Alshaya said the layoffs are the “result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months” and that it has “taken the sad and very difficult decision to reduce the number of colleagues” at its Starbucks locations.

“We will ensure that we give our colleagues leaving the business, and their families, the support they need, and we would like to express our deepest thanks for their hard work and dedication to Alshaya Group and the Starbucks brand,” the Kuwait-based company said.

According to news agency Reuters, Alshaya was established in 1890 and is one of the biggest retail franchisees in the region with rights to operate businesses of popular Western brands.

Several other brands with US ties are being subjected to consumer boycotts in North Africa. These include fast-food chain McDonald’s, and Yum Brands, whose portfolio contains KFC and Pizza Hut.

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