The AlShaya Group, the Starbucks franchise in the Middle East is preparing to axe 2,000 jobs. That means, about four per cent of its 50,000 strong workforce, mostly working for the Middle East and North Africa franchise of Starbucks will be rendered jobless, as reported by Reuters.
AlShaya has been successfully running the operations of various known Western brands in the region since 1890 when it was established in Kuwait. It has had the rights to run Starbucks coffee outlets in the Middle East since 1999.
The jobs cuts have already begun, and have been attributed primarily to the boycott of Western brands amidst the war in Gaza that commenced almost six months ago. The war has had an adverse impact on business in the area, with first-quarter results being below expectations. Sales were affected not just in the Middle East but also in the US, with the company being pressurised to take a stand in the Gaza issue.
AlShaya has reportedly assured that the impacted employees and their families will be given relevant help and support.
The Starbucks unit operates about 2,000 outlets in 13 countries, across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
Earlier, in January, AlShaya had revealed its plans to scale back in Egypt because of the economic situation, inflation and currency devaluations.
In early February, it was reported that the Kuwait-based Alshaya Group was planning to sell a minority stake in its Starbucks franchise business in the Middle East.
Apollo Global Management Inc, a US private-equity firm and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia had shown interest in acquiring a stake at the time.
