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In a letter responding to US President Donald Trump's ban on citizens of seven countries entering the US, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the company will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years.

The new hiring policy will begin in the US and will apply to stores around the world. A focus will be placed on hiring immigrants who have "served with US troops as interpreters and support personnel."

The letter also said Starbucks will provide health insurance to eligible workers if Obamacare is repealed, and attempt to support Mexican coffee growers.

"I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack," Schultz wrote. "We will neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new administration's actions grows with each passing day.

"There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.

"If the recent executive order related to health care remains in place and the Affordable Care Act is repealed causing you to lose your healthcare coverage, you will always have the ability to return and can do so within 30 days of losing that coverage rather than having to wait for an open enrollment period.

"We will continue to invest in this critically important market. We stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans."