Starbucks franchisee Alshaya Group, which operates the coffee shop chain across the Middle East and North Africa, has announced it will lay off around 2,000 employees as anti-American boycotts bite in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.

Kuwait-based Alshaya operated around 2,023 Starbucks outlets in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The proposed layoffs account for around 10% of its staff and current reports suggest already that the Starbucks network is already around 1,900 outlets.

Starbucks is one of a number of brands, which also include burger chain McDonald’s, that have been targeted for boycotts around perceived pro-Israel support, a hot button issue for consumers across the Middle East even if national governments in the MENA have adopted a more measured stance. In the US, Starbucks is embroiled in a battle with the company’s union, Starbucks Workers United, over the union’s overt support for Palestine. Unlike McDonald’s, where the Israeli franchisee’s actions supporting the Israeli Defense Force have provoked boycotts of the brand in markets like Egypt, Starbucks does not operate in Israel. The brand did operate briefly from 2001-2003 before closing.

Some markets are more affected than others. In Jordan, Lebanon, Oman and Egypt consumers have much stronger feelings towards Starbucks, while this is much less pronounced in the UAE, for example. On social media, Omanis have been posting pictures of Starbucks branches that have already closed.