The move came as leading US companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Ford, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft came out against the policy.
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 employees in a strongly worded note.
He added that the move was 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 is not yet clear when the five-year period would begin, or whether people would be employed directly by Starbucks or by suppliers. Schultz added that the Seattle-based company had also contacted employees who had been affected by the immigration ban.
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The move met with both support and a backlash on social media. The hashtag #BoycottStarbucks was trending on Twitter on Monday morning, with people praising and condemning the company’s move.
Starbucks’ move came as leading banks, car companies and technology firms voiced concern at the executive order. On Sunday, the Goldman Sachs chief, Lloyd Blankfein, left a voice message for staff that warned the plan could create “disruption” for the bank and its staff, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.
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“This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily,” Blankfein said.
Ford’s executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr, and chief executive, Mark Fields, also condemned the travel ban in a statement to staff. “We do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company,” they said.
Technology firms were the first to come out publicly against Trump’s plans. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, said that as an immigrant himself, he would “continue to advocate” on the issue. “As an immigrant and as a CEO, I’ve both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world,” he wrote on LinkedIn, the business networking site owned by the group.
Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, said 76 employees had been affected by the 90-day ban on entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In an email to Microsoft staff, he said: “We believe that immigration laws can and should protect the public without sacrificing people’s freedom of expression or religion. And we believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings.”
On Sunday, the Google co-founder and Alphabet president, Sergey Brin, was photographed among people protesting at San Francisco international airport over the immigration measures. Brin said he was there in a personal capacity, but reportedly told one journalist: “I’m here because I’m a refugee.”
A Google spokeswoman said: “We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. We’ll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.”
On Monday, the billionaire investor Mark Cuban added his voice to Trump’s critics. Cuban, who campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the election, told CNBCthat in person Trump seemed reasonable and open-minded. “But all that is thrown out the window when he tweets and when he communicates with the media,” he said. “This dichotomy makes things very difficult for business.”
Cuban said that Google, Microsoft and others had already had their businesses disrupted by Trump’s travel restrictions and that they were making life more confusing for employers of foreign-born workers.
“Now you have to give consideration to where they’re from, what their circumstances are, what type of travel that person is doing. Are they a risk? How does that impact my future hiring?”
