An uproar has ensued after the arrest of two African American men at a Philadelphia Starbucks who were waiting for a friend. Following these events, Starbucks has stated that it will close 8,000 company owned stores to train employees on racial bias.

In a Philadelphia Starbucks, two African American men were arrested by the police because they were waiting for a friend inside the store. There were no reported incidents of disruption or misconduct but they were asked to leave by the manager and then by the police. Following the uproar, Starbucks’ racial bias training will take place on May 29 to 175,000 Starbucks workers. According to CNN.com, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson stated that “I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it.” He continues to say, “While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution,” and that “closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.” As reported by Starbucks, this racial bias training will be held with experts such as former attorney general Eric Holder. Furthermore, president of NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Sherrilyn Ifill and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt will also join in on the program, in addition to the Equal Justice Initiative executives and Demos. After the training, Starbucks and its group of experts will review the effectiveness of their program.

Johnson has recently met with the two men who were arrested and apologized for Starbucks’ mistreatment of them according to a company spokesperson. They then came out with a statement that the manager who called the police on the terms of trespassing is no longer working there.
On fiscal terms, “Starbucks is expected to lose between $6 million and $8.7 million when it shuts down for the day on May 29 in order to train 175,000 employees in racial sensitivity,” according to TheStreet, Inc. Yet this figure also doesn’t consider the losses in boycotts and stock price drops. From YouGov Brand Index, a company that measures brand consumer perception, the reputation of the drink company is at a very low point.