NEW YORK: Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee service company, declared on Monday it would hire 10,000 refugees in five years in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions.

Howard Schultz, the coffee chain’s chief executive, said he had “deep concern” about the president’s order and would be taking “resolute” action, starting with offering jobs to refugees.

“We are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business,” he told workers in a strongly worded note.

He added that the move was meant to make clear the company “will neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new administration’s actions grows with each passing day”.

Schultz said the initial focus would be in the US and for refugees who had served as interpreters for the US military, but it was not clear when the five-year period would begin, or whether people would be employed direct by Starbucks or by suppliers.

The Starbucks chief added that the Seattle-based company had also contacted employees who had been affected by the immigration ban.

“We are living in an unprecedented time,” Schultz wrote in a memo on a social website, which listed several actions the company says it is taking to “reinforce our belief in our partners around the world”.

Schultz is the latest business executive to weigh in on the travel ban. The General Electric’s chief executive, Jeff Immelt, wrote to employees that he shared their “concern” over the order, adding that GE had many employees from the countries named in the ban.

Published in Dawn January 31st, 2017