Walking things back in the face of criticism has become a national pastime in America. Companies have repeatedly rolled out new initiatives, only to have a group complain, leading them to pause whatever the initiative or product might be. Ford is the most recent to do so, following Harley-Davidson and others in scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (DEI).
The automaker recently told workers that it would modify its DEI initiative to allow all employees, and said that it would end its work with the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Ford will also stop participating in some “best places to work” programs.
Bloomberg obtained an internal email from CEO Jim Farley, which said, “We are mindful that our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs. The external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve.” Ford also said it would change how it spends sponsorship dollars to focus on less polarizing issues and noted that it would comment less on such topics.
Much of the noise surrounding DEI is coming from one person, former music-video producer Robby Starbuck. Starbuck takes credit for similar actions at Lowe’s, but companies like Harley-Davidson and Tractor Supply Co. are likely bending to pressure from customers. Starbuck’s social media bellyaching has gained him plenty of attention, and he quickly took to Twitter/X to brag about Ford’s recent changes.
This isn’t everything we want, but it’s a great start,” he said on X. “We’re now forcing multibillion-dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose.”
[Images: Ford]
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