Several prominent multinational corporations, including Amazon, Marriott, and Hilton, have made a significant commitment to hire over 13,000 refugees in Europe, particularly Ukrainian women who have fled the Russian conflict, within the next three years. This announcement comes just ahead of World Refugee Day, as more than 40 companies have collectively pledged to provide opportunities for a total of 250,000 refugees, with 13,680 of them securing employment directly within these corporations.
According to Kelly Clements, the U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees, each figure represents the story of an individual or family who have had to abandon everything in search of safety, protection, and the chance to rebuild their lives as swiftly as possible. With a staggering 110 million displaced people worldwide, including an estimated 12 million from Ukraine alone, almost half of whom have sought refuge in Europe, the commitments made by businesses are of utmost importance.
The initiative in Europe, organized by the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a nonprofit created by Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya to bridge the gap between businesses and refugees, is being unveiled at an event in Paris. Last year, the group’s inaugural summit in the United States led to promises to employ 22,725 refugees.
Amazon is taking the lead in this latest round of commitments, pledging to hire at least 5,000 refugees over the next three years in Europe. Marriott and Hilton follow suit with 1,500 each, while Starbucks and ISS commit to employing 1,000 refugees each. Additionally, smaller commitments have been made by brands such as Adidas, L’Oreal, PepsiCo, and Hyatt.
Ofori Agboka, Amazon’s Vice President of Human Resources, explains that diversifying their workforce through this initiative will undoubtedly strengthen the company. He firmly believes that diversity fosters innovation, creativity, and different perspectives. The majority of the jobs offered will be hourly roles within fulfillment centers, storage facilities, transport, and delivery.
While Amazon had to announce 27,000 job cuts earlier this year, primarily in salaried office positions, as part of a post-pandemic restructuring phase, Agboka assures that the impact on hourly roles will be far less substantial.
Daria Sedihi-Volchenko, who fled Kyiv due to the Russian invasion and now works as a senior program manager for an Amazon Web Services training program in Warsaw, Poland, emphasizes the transformational journey she experienced personally and professionally. Having committed to learning technical skills and the Polish language during her interview, she empathizes with the learners in the program who often lack a tech background.
Over a year ago, Sedihi-Volchenko vividly recalls the terrifying moments of waking up to explosions from Russia’s invasion. Fearing for her own life and the future of Ukraine, she sought refuge in basements before ultimately leaving Kyiv as Russian forces approached. Miraculously, she traveled for 40 hours without encountering any dangers and arrived safely in Moldova. Determined to find work, she moved to Poland and transitioned to an IT career after previously working as a project manager for government ministries and as an economist in Ukraine.
With the economy rebounding from the effects of the pandemic, businesses hope to fill their staffing needs by providing employment opportunities to refugees. Europe currently experiences its lowest unemployment rate since the introduction of the euro currency in 1999. Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano highlights the record levels of demand for their properties across numerous European markets, prompting an aggressive hiring strategy to keep up with the rising demand. The majority of Marriott’s vacancies will consist of hourly positions, including housekeepers, kitchen staff, and front desk attendants.
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