WASHINGTON • Multinationals and Silicon Valley firms took strong stances against President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, amid mounting opposition and legal challenges to dial back the executive order.
Google, Facebook, Coca-Cola and Salesforce opposed the move, casting it in moral terms, saying it violated the country's principles and risked disrupting its engine of innovation.
Earlier, Starbucks, Nike, Chobani and a swathe of technology companies had come out against the order, with Starbucks chief executive officer Howard Schultz telling his employees that he had a "heavy heart" and vowed to hire 10,000 refugees from around the world.
Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings described the action as "so un-American it pains us all", while the founder of Amazon, Mr Jeff Bezos, pledged to support Washington state's lawsuit against the administration over the executive order.
The ban, issued last Friday, sets new barriers to entry for people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. The administration is also seeking to suspend admission of refugees for 120 days.
"As a US company that has operations in more than 200 countries and territories, we respect people from all backgrounds," said Mr Muhtar Kent, 64, chief executive of Coca-Cola. "We do not support this travel ban or any policy that is contrary to our core values and beliefs."
Mr Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant turned billionaire founder of Chobani, said he is "very concerned", while Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who hails from India, called the policy "painful".
Response was, however, largely muted from Wall Street firms, which have some of the best talent from around the world. Citigroup chief Mike Corbat expressed "concern" about the message and encouraged finding "the right balance between protecting the country and its longstanding role as an open and welcoming society".
Still, other companies refrained from outright criticism.
JPMorgan Chase's top executives said they were both "grateful" for efforts to keep the US safe and supportive of diversity, while Bank of America chief Brian Moynihan said the company was working to ensure that it had the most accurate information to best help affected staff.
However, Goldman Sach's chief executive, Mr Lloyd Blankfein, condemned the ban, saying it was "not a policy we support".
It was unclear how much the travel ban would hit Wall Street staff, with some saying relatively few employees appear to have been affected thus far.
"I think it would probably hurt them because they do tend to rely on the best international talent," said Professor Charles Geisst of Manhattan College, who has studied Wall Street.
NYTIMES, BLOOMBERG
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