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Ford Motor Co. and Lowe’s Companies Inc. have joined the ranks of companies that have pulled back on diversity, equity and inclusion policies while facing pressure from conservative groups.
Last week, Ford chief executive officer Jim Farley sent a memo to all employees outlining the changes, including a decision to stop taking part in external culture surveys and an annual survey by the Human Rights Campaign that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ2S+ employees.
Farley wrote that Ford is mindful that employees and customers have a wide range of beliefs “and the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve.” The company, he wrote, has been looking at its policies during the past year.
Read: 92% of LGBTQ2S+ workers consider company’s inclusion reputation when job searching: survey
Ford, he wrote, doesn’t use hiring quotas or tie compensation to specific diversity goals and it remains committed to “fostering a safe and inclusive workplace.”
Robby Starbuck, a conservative political commentator who has gone after companies such as Lowe’s, Tractor Supply Co. and John Deere & Co., wrote in a post on X that he was investigating Ford’s “woke” policies.
Starbuck posted Farley’s memo, the contents of which were confirmed by Ford. The company said the memo speaks for itself and declined further comment.
In a statement, the Human Rights Campaign said Ford was cowering to an “internet troll” by abandoning its longtime values and policies. “Their short-sighted decision will hurt the company’s long-term business success.”
Read: How employers can support LGBTQ2S+ employees’ mental well-being amid challenging times
In an internal memo shared by Lowe’s with the Associated Press, its executive leadership said the retailer began “reviewing” its programs following the court’s July 2023 ruling and the company recently decided to combine its resource groups, which were for “individual groups representing diverse sections of our associate population,” into one umbrella organization.
The retailer also will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual survey and will also stop sponsoring and participating in events, such as festivals and parades, that are outside of its business areas.
The changes were made to ensure Lowe’s policies are “lawful” and aligned with its commitment to “include everyone,” the memo states. “We may make additional changes over time. What will not change, though, is our commitment to our people.”
Starbuck also took credit for the changes at Lowe’s, saying he had approached one of the company’s executives online last week and detailed his plans to “expose” the company over its hiring policies and other topics, such as LGBTQ2S+ employee resource groups and funding for Pride events.
Read: How Pizza Pizza is aligning DEI, workplace culture with corporate strategy
However, Lowe’s spokesperson Steve Salazar pushed back on that claim, noting that Starbuck’s outreach came after the company “already announced changes that had long been in process” internally. The company memo didn’t specify when exactly these changes were implemented but noted they were discussed at an Aug. 21 meeting.
Over the last week, Lowe’s has knocked down a different claim spreading on social media, in which a digitally-altered image quoted Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison as saying that conservatives who didn’t like the company’s values should instead shop at rival Home Depot.
“Lowe’s CEO did not make this comment,” the company wrote on X in response to several users who shared the image. “Everyone is welcome at Lowe’s.”
For his part, Ellison has diversified the company’s ranks, adding more women and ethnically diverse leaders since taking the helm in 2018. Ellison, who is Black and grew up in segregated rural Tennessee, has also been outspoken about racism since the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked major protests for racial justice in 2020.