Starbucks to Close All Stores Nationwide for Racial-Bias Education on May 29
April 17 2018 - 2:12PM
Business Wire
Training will occur at all Starbucks
company-owned stores and will apply to nearly 175,000 U.S.
partners (employees)
Curriculum to be designed by nationally
recognized experts and will be available for other companies
to use
Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced it
will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the
United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct
racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in
our stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000
partners (employees) across the country and will become part of the
onboarding process for new partners.
“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership
team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and
the steps we need to take to fix it,” said Starbucks ceo Kevin
Johnson. “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed
to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial-bias
training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication
from every level of our company and partnerships in our local
communities.”
All Starbucks company-owned retail stores and corporate
offices will be closed in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29.
During that time, partners will go through a training program
designed to address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion,
prevent discrimination and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store
feels safe and welcome.
“The company’s founding values are based on humanity and
inclusion,” said executive chairman Howard Schultz, who joined
Johnson and other senior Starbucks leaders in Philadelphia to meet
with community leaders and Starbucks partners. “We will learn from
our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and
welcoming environment for every customer.”
The curriculum will be developed with guidance from several
national and local experts confronting racial bias, including Bryan
Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice
Initiative; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and
director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund; Heather McGhee, president of Demos; former U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder; and Jonathan Greenblatt, ceo of the
Anti-Defamation League. Starbucks will involve these experts in
monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the measures we
undertake.
Earlier this week, Starbucks began a review of its training and
practices to make important reforms where necessary to ensure our
stores always represent our Mission and Values, by
providing a safe and inclusive environment for our
customers and partners.
Once completed, the company will make the education materials
available to other companies, including our licensee
partners, for use with their employees and leadership.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been
committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica
coffee. Today, with more than 28,000 stores around the
globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of
specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to
excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the
unique Starbucks Experience to life for every
customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please
visit our stores or online at Starbucks.com and
news.starbucks.com.
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Starbucks Coffee CompanyJaime Riley,
1-206-318-7100press@starbucks.com
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