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Starbucks on mission to employ 10,000 vets

November 6, 2013

Starbucks Coffee Company announced this week that it is committed to hiring thousands of veterans, which will be possible with its new hiring platform for veterans and active duty spouses.

"The value we are creating for shareholders is tied to the values that guide us as an organization," Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and CEO, said in a company press release. "As I look at the opportunity ahead of us, we're going to need to hire men and women with like-minded values and the right job skills in order to continue our current levels of growth. The more than 1 million transitioning U.S. veterans and almost one and half million military spouses — with their diverse background and experience — share our mission-driven sensibility and work ethic and can build long-term careers at Starbucks as they return home."

This multi-year hiring and career development strategy will focus on establishing an internal infrastructure dedicated to matching the transferable skill sets of veterans and military spouses with the specific talent needed across the Starbucks enterprise, Schultz said in the release.  It will also build upon and expand the company's specialized mentoring programs as provided via the Armed Forces Network, a peer organization whose emphasis is to ensure new hires have access to the information and resources they need to be successful. The AFN has been a part of Starbucks since 2007, supporting transitioning military and has led the company's efforts to make it an employer of choice for new hires.

In addition, a store in Lakewood, Wash., and a store in San Antonio will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with non-profit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the U.S.

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