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Amazon, Blackstone, Hilton, ManpowerGroup, Marriott International, and Pfizer among brands pledging support for refugees across the U.S.
NEW YORK , Sept. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the United States welcoming tens of thousands of refugees from Afghanistan , Ukraine , and other crises, today, dozens of America's largest employers and best-known brands are announcing new commitments to hire 22,725 refugees in full time positions in the U.S., helping to advance the economic and social integration of refugees across the country. This is the most significant set of business commitments in support of refugees on record.
The U.S. Business Summit on Refugees, organized by the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) — a network of 260 major businesses committed to supporting the economic integration of refugees — brings together leading companies including Amazon, Hilton, PepsiCo, Pfizer, and Tyson Foods, to announce commitments to hire and train thousands of refugees in the United States over the next three years. The Summit is the first in a series of milestones to continue to mobilize companies in support of refugees.
"The American business community is showing incredible leadership, and I am so proud of the companies standing up for refugees today," said Hamdi Ulukaya , CEO of Chobani and founder of Tent. "These companies will benefit from welcoming these hard-working, loyal, and resilient individuals – but my hope is that this is only the beginning. As refugee crises start to fade from the headlines, companies must recognize that hiring refugees is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do."
The United States is set to welcome hundreds of thousands of refugees in the coming years, including almost 100,000 Afghans by the end of 2022, 100,000 Ukrainians who have fled Russia's invasion, and up to 125,000 refugees per year from other parts of the world who will arrive through the resettlement program. As refugees in the U.S. often face significant challenges finding work – including language barriers, difficulty certifying their credentials, and lack of a professional network – business leadership is critical to help refugees secure jobs.
Among the commitments companies are announcing today:
"We believe that Amazon is a stronger company because of the diversity of our workforce, and we actively seek to hire people with different backgrounds, skill sets, and levels of experience. Being displaced from your homeland and having to start again somewhere is never easy, which is why we are committed to helping where we can, by providing refugees and other displaced people with access to meaningful employment, as well as immigration support, through our Welcome Door program. It's our privilege to help people make a new start.", said Janet Saura , VP, Employee Relations, WW Amazon Stores and Corporate.
"Our experience connecting refugees with meaningful work across Europe tells us that finding a job is a critical first step for people to get settled, build relationships and integrate themselves and their families into new communities," said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "We believe collective partnership is critical to achieve impact at scale and we are pleased to partner with Tent in mobilizing the business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of refugees. This is how we will create a path to sustainable employment so refugees can rebuild their lives and improve their prospects for a better future."
The following companies are making additional hiring commitments: Accenture, Aimbridge Hospitality, Albea, Amcor, Atento, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Carrols, Chobani, Deloitte, Fedex, Gap Inc., Genpact, Graham Packaging, Great Lakes Cheese, Henry Schein , IHG Hotels & Resorts, Kellogg, Kimball Midwest, La Colombe, Mastercorp, Oneida Nation Enterprises, Panda Express, Red Roof , Silgan Dispensing, Sodexo, Spencer's & Spirit Halloween, Sumitomo Electric, The Body Shop, Transdev, US Xpress.
These hiring commitments are estimated to generate $913 million in income for refugees in the U.S. each year. They will not only help thousands of refugees start their new lives in the U.S. with security and dignity, but also harness the skills and resilience of refugees to strengthen the U.S. workforce, fill key labor gaps, and boost the economy.
In addition, LinkedIn, Coursera, Ipsos, and others, are announcing commitments to provide 13,850 refugees with training opportunities, which will help them gain a better understanding of the U.S. job market, develop skills, and grow their professional networks.
A complete list of the commitments can be found here.
Tent has been active in the U.S. since its founding in 2016. In September 2021 , in the wake of the mass evacuation of Afghans to the United States , Tent launched its Coalition for Refugees in the U.S. – which now counts more than 110 U.S. employers – to provide companies with U.S.-specific guidance and resources on how to set up effective refugee hiring and training programs.
For media enquiries: Amanda Jada [email protected] (813) 808-0736
Michael Schmidt [email protected] (202) 538-4945
With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 36 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 260 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations – by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs and consumers. The full list of Tent members can be found here. Find out more at www.tent.org.
SOURCE Tent Partnership for Refugees
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