Starbucks plans to hire 240,000 more people globally by the year 2021.
The company announced its plans for a hiring spree at its annual shareholders meeting Wednesday, CNN reported.
The announcement comes as Starbucks is heavily focused on growing its business abroad. It’s currently opening one store per day in China, and Starbucks recently entered the Italian market. The coffee chain plans to add 12,000 new stores worldwide by 2021.
Howard Schultz, 63, will stay on as executive chairman of Starbucks. Now that he’s relinquishing his CEO title, he’ll have more time to focus on the social issues he cares about.
He said he plans to continue his efforts on youth development, veterans’ issues and homelessness through the Schultz Family Foundation.
“I’m committed to doing everything I can as a private citizen to try and elevate the national conversation about these issues,” Schultz said. “I’m very, very concerned about the fragile nature of the world and the uncertainty in America and want to do everything I can to really improve the situation for those people who do not have a voice.”
The public has long speculated whether Schultz will run for political office himself. In December, Schultz told CNN that it’s “not the right time,” but “I’m still a young man.”
Johnson and Schultz say the pair worked closely together on a five-year plan for the company, and they expect this transition to go “seamlessly.”
Starbucks incoming CEO Kevin Johnson intends to carry on Schultz’s tradition of balancing business with promoting social causes. The company has promised to hire 25,000 veterans or their spouses by the year 2025, expanding a prior commitment to hire 10,000. It also plans to hire 100,000 young people who are not in school or unemployed by 2020.
YouGov, a firm that tracks customers’ brand perceptions, said in February that its research showed the decision to hire refugees damaged the brand – causing its brand perception to fall by two-thirds. Starbucks refuted that claim, saying a study it commissioned found the hiring decision didn’t have any substantial impact on brand perception.
Johnson said he’s ready to take on the tall order of replacing Schultz, who is credited as the mastermind behind Starbucks’ meteoric rise from small Seattle coffee shop to household name.
