Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he will contribute $30 million toward a nationwide program to hire low income 16-to-24-year olds.
According to Starbucks, the jobs program will include training and mentorship. The coffee company has put together a coalition of a dozen companies, including Walmart, Alaska Airlines and J.P. Morgan Chase, Macy's, J.C. Penney, Porch.com, Potbelly, Taco Bell, Target, Walgreens, Hilton, Cintas and HMS Host, that have pledged jointly to hire 100,000 16 to 24 year olds who are living in poverty.
Earlier this year, Starbucks backed away from another social justice initiative that encouraged people to talk about race relations while ordering their coffee.
Schultz says some of the new hires at Starbucks will replace employees who are leaving, but he promises the majority of new Starbucks hires will be placed in new entry level jobs at the company’s coffee houses.
Starbucks plans to hold job fairs around the country over the next few years. The first will be held in Chicago on August 13, which Schultz expects to result in at least 1,000 hires.