Starbucks opens new branch in Mexico City, hires senior employees only

U.S coffee chain giant Starbucks opened a new café in Mexico City that is only hiring senior staff.

The branch located in the Colonia del Valle neighborhood has already hired more than 10 employees between the ages of 50 and 66 as part of a new initiative to offer employment opportunities to the elderly.

Since 2011, Starbucks has been working with the National Institute for the Elderly that allowed for the launch of the new program.

The new branch will give two days off each week to their employees which we be working six-and-a-half hours shifts with entitlements to medical insurance and other major expenses.

To reduce the risk of any injuries or accidents, Starbucks will be making minor changes to the layout of the café such as lowered shelves.

"It took us two years to land the best scheme to contribute to the elderly community in Mexico," explains Christian Gurría, CEO of Starbucks Mexico.

"Opening the doors of our stores to senior baristas was not a goal, it was an act of congruence with the inclusion philosophy of Starbucks," he said.

Gurria said that the aim of this initiative is to encourage interactions between the young customers and the senior staff and hopes to expand the initiative by hiring more than 120 senior employees by 2019.

The company, which had a turnover of 22.4 billion dollars in 2017, has almost 29,000 cafes in 77 countries, including 12,000 in the US and 3,300 in China.

Starbucks recently opened its first branch in Italy on Thursday, with the sprawling Milan 'roastery' at the avant garde of an ambitious plan to conquer the spiritual home of espresso.