Boycotts Costing Starbucks $11 Billion in Lost Value

(ConservativeInsider.org) – Things are not going well for iconic coffee giant Starbucks, which is facing an $11 billion market value decline due to a combination of staff strikes, boycotts, and lower than expected holiday promotions and sales.

Since their promotion of their annual Red Cup Day, which was less than three weeks ago, Starbucks shares have dropped almost 9%.

Part of the drama at Starbucks is related to the Israel-Hamas war and the Starbucks Workers Union, which comprises about 9,000 Starbucks employees. The Starbucks Workers Union shared a post on social media expressing solidarity with Palestine after Hamas launched attacks on Israel on October 7th. The official Starbucks corporation sued the union, alleging the union unlawfully used the Starbucks name and logo on their social media pages, confusing consumers into believing that the pro-Palestine message came from the company itself, leading to a negative impact on the brand’s reputation.

The union filed a complaint in response, suggesting that the company is suing the union to push their anti-union campaign. The union has asked for a declaratory judgment that will allow it to continue using the Starbucks Workers United logo and name.

In their lawsuit, Starbucks included complaints from customers, suggesting they believe the company is behind the pro-Palestine comments shared online. One social media post said that consuming Starbucks is now akin to “drinking a cup of Jewish blood” due to their confusion over who actually shared pro-Palestinian comments online.

Despite a lack of comment from Starbucks corporate on the official company stance on the Israel-Hamas war, many online have assumed the company’s attempt to silence pro-Palestinian messages as pro-Israeli messages. This led the company to declare that they do not donate to Israel’s government or military, but as boycotts continue, it appears their words have fallen on deaf ears.

Strikes from Starbucks employees who are dissatisfied with staffing and scheduling led to service disruptions at more than 200 Starbucks locations on Red Cup Day, which is typically one of their most popular days of the year.