In the US, the focus would be on hiring immigrants “who have served with U.S troops as interpreters and support personnel”.
Starbucks Corp CEO Howard Schultz on Sunday said that the company will hire 10,000 refugees worldwide over the next five years in response to President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
“I write you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise,†Schultz said in a letter to employees posted on the company’s website. “We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question.â€
The hiring would apply to stores worldwide and the effort would start in the United States where the focus would be on hiring immigrants “who have served with U.S troops as interpreters and support personnel,†the letter read.
Schultz, a supporter of Hillary Clinton during the Presidential run, also defended Mexico, which Trump said will have to pay for a wall along its long and porous border with the United States to deter immigrants.
“Building bridges, not walls, with Mexico,†he wrote, voicing support for the country that has provided Starbucks with coffee for three decades, and where nearly 600 Starbucks coffee shops employ 7,000 people.
“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,†he added.
On Friday, President Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, saying the move would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.