Starbucks Canada to hire 1,000 refugees

TORONTO — Starbucks Canada has committed to hiring at least 1,000 refugees over the next five years.

The company says it will actively hire through the national organization, Hire Immigrants, which works with a network of resettlement agencies.

Starbucks plans on kicking off the initiative in the next two months and concentrate on finding candidates in areas with the largest number of newly arrived refugees, including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

It said the majority of the jobs will be permanent positions at the store level.

The commitment is part of the coffee retailer’s global goal announced in January to hire 10,000 refugees in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s temporary travel bans against Muslim-majority countries.

As of last fall, Starbucks Canada operated 1,399 locations across the country and employed more than 19,000 workers.