Starbucks has faced protests since last year over their battles against their workers’ unionization. However for the last few months a new wave of protests against the iconic coffee chain, due to its funding of Israel in the Gaza conflict.

The infamous coffee chain has seen a 38% decrease in its quarterly sales due to international boycotts. The boycotts aren’t just in the US but also in the Middle East, and countries like Malaysia. CEO of Starbucks, Vincent Tan, has recently spoken up about the boycotts and their real impacts.

“This boycott doesn’t benefit anyone,” Tan said. 

Starbucks is desperately trying to convince hotspots of the boycott and how this is more detrimental to the protesters rather than the company.

This comes after last year’s protests as Starbucks resisted the unionization of their workers which caused Starbucks stocks to fall in value by 9%; a catastrophic decrease in such a short period. Starbucks is already dealing with less foot traffic due to these but now with the additional boycotts due to Israel and Hamas, there’s a question if Starbucks will take yet another hit to their sales and stock prices.

Starbucks is beginning to become a controversial company, with both left and right-wing citizens of different countries voicing their frustrations with the coffee company. It will be interesting to see if Starbucks’ massive sales like ‘buy one get 50% off’ will save the floundering company. 

Not to mention as eating out becomes increasingly expensive it drives people even further away as many can’t afford it. Starbucks is no different and as a whole has been alienating the general public with its prices despite all of their deals.

As Starbucks struggles to stay afloat in several countries the protests have even spread to Chelsea, where a failed protest took place. At the same time, many people can be seen wandering the halls with a variety of Starbucks goods. It’s an interesting irony and it shows two sides of the public opinion.