Boycott pays off: Starbucks cuts Middle East workforce

AlShaya Group, which owns the rights to Starbucks in the Middle East, plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs as the Gulf giant suffers a consumer boycott linked to the war in Gaza.

AlShaya Group, which owns the rights to Starbucks in the Middle East, plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs as the Gulf giant suffers a consumer boycott linked to the war in Gaza.

The layoffs, which began Sunday, represent about 4 percent of AlShaya Group's roughly 50,000 employees, mostly at Starbucks franchises in the Middle East and North Africa, sources said.

One of the sources said the boycott had created difficult trading conditions for the company.

"As a result of six months of challenging trading conditions, we have made the very difficult decision to reduce the number of employees at our Starbucks MENA cafes," AlShaya said in a statement. The official statement did not specify the exact number of employees being laid off.