Map Shows Where Starbucks Is Firing Thousands of Employees

The Middle East franchise of Starbucks is firing thousands of employees amid ongoing calls for boycott as a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas fighting.

On Tuesday, the Middle East franchise of Starbucks said it has begun firing about 2,000 workers at its coffee shops across the region. The Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, a private family firm holding franchise rights, confirmed the the firings at its Middle Eastern and North African locations.

Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history on October 7. Israel in subsequently launched its heaviest air strikes against Gaza. As of Wednesday, at least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli government. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, AP said.

Protests from both sides have been seen around the globe as tensions escalate in the U.S., with many calling for a lasting ceasefire amid the rising death toll. Starbucks has continued to find itself facing calls for boycott as many have expressed disagreement with the company's perceived stance on the issue.

Starbucks in October said it was a non-political organization and dismissed rumors it had provided support to the Israeli government or army.

"As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have taken the sad and very difficult decision to reduce the number of colleagues in our Starbucks MENA stores," Alshaya Group said in a statement.

Newsweek has reached out to Alshaya Group via email for comment

The affected countries are expected to be Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Alshaya runs about 1,900 Starbucks branches in those countries and the layoffs will represent just over 10 percent of its overall staff.

The layoffs comes after tensions over a boycott grew in October after Starbucks sued Workers United, which has organized workers in at least 370 U.S. Starbucks stores, over a pro-Palestinian message posted on a union social media account.

The company said in a statement that "people were mistakenly tying these remarks to us, because Workers United, its affiliates and members continue to use our name, logo and intellectual property."

Despite the calls for boycotts, Starbucks revenue rose 8 percent to a record $9.43 billion for the October-December period of last year, according to AP. However, the revenue was lower than the $9.6 billion analysts had projected.

Starbucks is not the only brand to be impacted by boycotts due to the war. McDonald's is another big-name brand that has faced calls for a boycott after its franchise in Israel said in social media posts that it would donate meals to the Israel Defense Forces.

Some took to social media to argue that "supporting companies that are involved in conflicts is wrong, especially when it comes to the loss of innocent lives."

McDonald's previously told Newsweek that this is not it its position.

"McDonald's Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local Developmental Licensee business partners were made independently without McDonald's consent or approval," the company said in a statement in November.

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