Starbucks to Close Stores for an Afternoon for Bias Training

Starbucks Also Said the Employee who Called the Police no Longer Works at the Store

NEW YORK (AP) – Starbucks plans to close more than 8,000 stores for several hours next month to conduct racial-bias training for nearly 175,000 workers.

The announcement Tuesday comes after the arrests sparked protects and calls for a boycott on social media.

Philadelphia police released a recording of the call from the Starbucks employee that led to the arrests. In the recording, a woman is heard saying, “Hi, I have two gentlemen in my café that are refusing to make a purchase or leave.”

She gives the address of the Starbucks store, and the entire call lasts less than 30 seconds.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson called the arrests “reprehensible” and said he wanted to apologize to the two men face-to-face.

The company and a lawyer for the two men said they did meet, and Johnson delivered the apology.

Starbucks also said the employee who called the police no longer works at the store, but declined to give details.

Johnsons also promised to revamp store management training to include “unconscious-bias” education,

Starbucks said its U.S. company-owned stores and corporate offices will be closed on the afternoon of May 29 for the training, which will eventually be incorporated into the instruction process for all newly hired employees.