DEARBORN, Michigan — ford Motor Co. is among companies that have stepped back on diversity, equality and inclusion efforts due to pressure from conservative groups.
CEO Jim Farley sent a memo to all employees Wednesday outlining the changes, which include no longer participating in external culture surveys and an annual Human Rights Campaign survey that measures workplace inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees.
“We will continue to focus our efforts and resources on taking care of our customers, our team and our communities, rather than publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day,” the memo said. “There will, of course, be times when we will speak out on core issues when we believe our voice can make a positive difference.”
Farley wrote that Ford recognizes that employees and customers have a wide range of beliefs “and the external and legal environment regarding political and social issues continues to evolve.” The company, he wrote, has been looking at its policies over the past year.
Ford, he wrote, does not have hiring quotas or tie compensation to specific diversity goals and remains committed to “fostering a safe and inclusive workplace.”
The US business community has turned its focus to diversity initiatives following widespread protests over racial and gender inequality in leadership roles following the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020.
Recently, however, some companies have reversed their stance and modified DEI programs intended to increase racial and ethnic representation in the workplace, in response to pressure from conservative legal organizations. Since 2021, some companies have received public letters from shareholders stating that their DEI programs constitute illegal discrimination and a violation of directors’ duties to investors.
Groups opposing diversity policies are motivated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, a ruling that doesn’t directly affect employers. Diversity advocates have said opposition to DEI threatens the advancement of underrepresented groups in companies, particularly in leadership roles.
Former President Donald Trump, the current Republican candidate for U.S. president, has been highly critical of DEI initiatives.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative political commentator who has criticized companies such as Lowe’s, Tractor Supply and John Deerewrote in a post on X on Wednesday that he was investigating Ford’s “woke” policies.
Starbucks posted Farley’s memo, the contents of which Ford confirmed. The company said Wednesday that the memo speaks for itself and declined to comment further.
In a statement, the Human Rights Campaign said Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, left itself vulnerable to an “internet troll” by abandoning its long-standing values and policies.
“Ford Motor Company is failing in its financial obligation to recruit and retain top talent from its entire talent pool,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “Their shortsighted decision will harm the company’s long-term success.”
Multiple companies have changed their diversity programs since the US Supreme Court prohibited positive action upon admission to university or after facing conservative backlash online.
“This isn’t all we want, but it’s a good start,” Starbuck said on social media platform X. “We’re now forcing organizations worth billions of dollars to change their policies.”
Contains contributions from Reuters