Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said that those protesting against the company over its position on the war launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip are “influenced by misinformation on social media” about the company’s positions.
He indicated – in a message to employees, yesterday, Tuesday – that many Starbucks cafes had been subjected to vandalism incidents, explaining that the company is working with local authorities to ensure the safety of its workers and customers.
The café chain is one of several Western brands that are under pressure from consumers who are demanding that companies take a position in the war between Israel and the Palestinian resistance led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which has led to the launch of boycott campaigns in some Arab countries.
Starbucks, headquartered in Seattle, filed a lawsuit last October against a union representing thousands of coffee industry workers in about 360 American stores, after the union briefly published a statement on social media that the company said “reflects the union’s support for violence that… “Committed by Hamas.”
The company said at the time that it categorically condemned “acts of terrorism, hatred and violence” and added that it strongly opposed the views expressed by the union.
Starbucks Group shares have suffered losses since last November 16, amid a combination of influences, including the widespread popular boycott against the backdrop of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, employee strikes, and weak demand for promotional campaigns.
The shares of this famous group closed yesterday at $97.72, down by about $10 from 107.21, causing it losses of about $10 billion.
Last Saturday, Mustafa Fahmy, CEO of Strategies and Emerging Markets at Fortress Investment Company, said that Starbucks – which is facing a massive boycott campaign – was unable to change the consumer’s perception of its direction despite the promotional offers because the consumer now views it as a partner in supporting the occupation.
He added – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that Starbucks will face many challenges in the future, and he expected that its financial results for the fourth quarter would be very bad, and that it would be reflected in the total annual results of the famous American coffee company.
Labor protest
The Café Company Workers Union expressed in a tweet their solidarity with the Palestinians, so Starbucks filed a lawsuit against their union grouping in October, which prompted them to strike, especially with accumulated wage claims.
This led to the expansion of boycott campaigns against the company to the United States and other regions of the world after protests began in the Arab and Islamic world, against the backdrop of its expression of broad solidarity with Israel with the beginning of the war on Gaza.
The chain has more than 35,000 branches around the world in 86 countries, including more than 9,000 branches in the United States, and nearly 1,900 cafes in 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and employs more than 19,000 employees.
Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip for the 75th day against the backdrop of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which was carried out by the Palestinian resistance in the Strip at dawn on the seventh of last October. The toll of Palestinian martyrs since the beginning of this war has risen to about 20,000 and more than 52,000 have been wounded, most of them women and children.
