'Make us one', Mixue promotes diversity amid racist job ad controversy

Summary

• The beverage chain Mixue lands in hot water as netizens are displeased with its job advertisement supposedly specifying racial requirements.

• The global brand has since uploaded diversity campaign promotions on its social media pages.

• It also says the error lies in the outlet’s hiring process, and guidance was provided to ensure proper procedures are followed in the future.

Beverage chain Mixue appears to be strengthening its diversity campaign amid controversy over alleged racial discrimination in one of its job advertisements.

Instagram user @mohaneyyy initially highlighted the issue several days ago by posting an image of a job vacancy poster at the Mixue outlet in Sri Sinar, Segambut.

The advertisement stated “Malay and Chinese with experience” as a hiring criterion - seemingly implying that Indian applicants were not welcome.

“So, Indians (and others) can be customers, but aren’t considered worthy enough to be employees? Why are we being excluded from job opportunities like this?” the Instagram user questioned in his post.

“Everyone deserves an equal chance to work, regardless of their race. It’s 2025, shouldn’t we be moving towards inclusivity, not discrimination?”

One user commented that the poster has since been removed from the outlet.

The user added that while he was told neither a supervisor nor manager was in the store to meet him, he would still be sending an e-mail on his grouses to Mixue.

Besides raining criticism on the job advertisement and urging the company’s management and lawmakers to address the issue, some netizens also called for a boycott of the Mixue brand, which is known for its affordable prices.

Others, however, questioned whether the criteria could be referring to language instead of race.

Diversity campaign

Mixue has since uploaded to its social media platforms two posts on its “Make Us One” campaign, which supposedly emphasises its racial diversity among staffers.

One post, shared yesterday evening, includes brief write-ups on the career growth of three employees named Ashnawi, Jamaliah and Chan Pui Lai.

“From our friendly store crew to the dedicated teams behind the scenes, every Mixue employee is part of our big family,” the company said in the caption for the post.

Responses to Mixue’s posts on the campaign have been minimal thus far.

Meanwhile, Mixue Malaysia reportedly addressed the controversy, saying the error lay in the outlet’s hiring process.

“Unfortunately, an error in their (the outlet’s) hiring process led to misleading information. As soon as we became aware of the issue, we instructed the store to remove the poster and provided guidance to ensure their future recruitment practices follow proper procedures,” it said to news site Says.

The company added that it is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for employees from all backgrounds.

“Any form of discrimination contradicts our core values and will not be tolerated,” it said.

It was previously reported that Mixue has over 45,000 outlets globally as of September 2024, leaping ahead of fast-food chain McDonald’s with 42,000 outlets.

UK family's M'sian holiday tarnished by racist encounter at apartment

MIC demands strong govt action against Era FM for insulting Hinduism

COMMENT | MMC: Significant step to accountable media ecosystem

LETTER | Hidden scars of housing racism in M'sia

'No selling to orang keling': Video of racist stall owner goes viral