Starbucks is making a commit to the thousands of men and women who served their country.
According to the Huffington Post, the world's biggest coffee chain announced on Wednesday it would commit to hiring at least 10,000 veterans and spouses of active military in five years. The company also announced plans for five new and existing U.S. Starbucks cafes, on or near military bases, will share a portion of each sale with non-profits organizations that help veterans re-enter the workforce.
Starbucks board member and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said hopes to tap the "unique communication, leadership and problem-solving skills developed by veterans and their families."
"This is not a charity initiative," Starbucks Chief Community Officer Blair Taylor said in an interview this week. "This is an endeavor predicated on us genuinely needing the skills veterans offer."
Starbucks' new effort aims to expand and strengthen its existing mentoring program through the Armed Forces Network.
"This demographic represents one of the most underutilized talent pools in our country," former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, now a Starbucks director, said.
As the company expands globally and gets coffee and tea from around the globe, veterans offer international experience and foreign language skills, Gates said. Starbucks is seeking individuals with experience in everything from leading teams to building and managing complex, global supply chains, Schultz said.
"They bring an understanding of other cultures and they're accustomed to working with diverse and international partners," Gates said.
Starbucks employs roughly 134,000 people in the United States, including "thousands" of veterans and their spouses. It did not offer a more precise breakdown. Many U.S. companies have committed to hiring thousands of military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several other major U.S. businesses have recently made a push to pull employees from the nation's defense forces. Wal-Mart has said it will hire 100,000 veterans by 2018.