Starbucks to hire thousands of veterans
Starbucks has announced that in an effort to increase its workforce, it will simultaneously help military personnel transition to civilian work by hiring at least 10,000 armed forces veterans and spouses of active-duty servicemembers over the next five years. Some call it patriotism, others a smart business move, given the desirability of veterans as talented employees.
“This is, in my view, not charity or philanthropy. But in fact, this is good business,” Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz said in a statement. Former Secretary of Defense and CIA director Robert Gates is now a Starbucks board member, and in conjunction with Schultz and the other board members, they have timed this hiring push to coincide with the planned decline in troop activity overseas.
Schultz added, “These are highly skilled, highly trained people who have significant leadership capabilities, who will add value to Starbucks.”
Launching “community” stores
As part of this announcement, Starbucks has revealed that two existing Starbucks stores will be turned into “community” stores, thus a fixed amount from every purchase will be donated to local nonprofit organizations. The two shops to be converted will be in Washington near the Army’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the second in San Antonio which has four sizable military installations.
According to The Seattle Times, the new community store in Washington state will donate $0.10 from every purchase to a nonprofit that helps veterans look for civilian work, a meaningful donation to the nearly 8,000 potential servicemembers to be discharged from this single base in coming years.
“This is absolutely the right thing to do for so many people who have a hard time landing softly and finding their way back to civilian life,” Schultz concluded. “Businesses and business leaders need to meet them more than halfway.”
