Farm equipment company John Deere has walked back on its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts following backlash.
The company said in a statement that it is “always listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve.”
“That’s why we consistently prioritize internal policies that more closely align our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers,” it said.”
The company listed several new commitments:
- “We will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.
- “Business Resource Groups will exclusively be focused on professional development, networking, mentoring, and supporting talent recruitment efforts.
- “Auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages, while being in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
- “Reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.
- “We fundamentally believe that a diverse workforce enables us to best meet our customers’ needs and because of that we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organization.”
Filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who exposed the company’s DEI agendas, said that John Deere’s changes may not be enough for customers.
“Another huge win in our war on wokeness BUT I don’t think this is enough for customers to go back. Customers want to hear that DEI policies are entirely gone and that they will no longer participate in social credit [Corporate Equality Index] scoring by [Human Rights Campaign],” he said. “This half measure shows that we’re a powerful force to be reckoned with though. While I’m not completely pleased, I don’t want to downplay the fact that this is another massive win. I won’t rest until we eliminate leftism from corporate America.”
After a similar boycott was launched against Tractor Supply for its DEI initiatives, the company announced it would “eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment.”
