(Logo via Ford’s Facebook)
Months after withdrawing from external corporate culture surveys such as those administered by the Human Rights Campaign, Ford Motor Company will scale back internal policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to a memo from the company’s CEO Jim Farley.
The move, which follows similar decisions by other publicly traded corporations like JPMorgan Chase, home improvement retailer Lowe’s, and motorcycle maker Harley Davidson, marks a decisive shift in the automaker’s approach to workplace culture.
Ford has long earned top marks in external ranking systems that measure firms’ commitments to inclusion by evaluating their corporate policies, practices, and benefits with respect to gender equity, LGBTQ equality, disability, and other metrics.
The contents of Farley’s memo were first reported Aug. 28 when the document was leaked to Reuters by conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has campaigned against DEI programs as well as corporate participation in LGBTQ events and the issuance of public statements concerning — or the deployment of business strategies to address — matters from climate change to systemic racism.
The Hollywood music video director-turned-anti-woke crusader claimed credit, at least to some extent, for Ford’s decision, writing that the company “fears” him. “We’re now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies,” he said in a post on X.
HRC on Aug. 28 slammed the automaker’s announcement in a press release arguing that the company’s profits and employee retention numbers will be ultimately harmed by the rescission of its DEI policies.
“Today, Ford Motor Company abandoned its commitment to hundreds of thousands of employees by cowering to internet troll Robby Starbuck, and signaling that inclusion and other core values are no longer a priority in the workplace,” the group’s president Kelley Robinson said.
Noting the company’s reputation for prioritizing inclusion, she said HRC “could not be more disappointed to see Ford Motor Company shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders.”
“By failing to support women leaders, employees of color, and LGBTQ+ employees, Ford Motor Company is abandoning its financial duty to recruit and keep top talent from across the full talent pool,” Robinson said, adding, “in making their purchasing decisions, consumers should take note that Ford Motor Company has abandoned its commitment to our communities.”
Her statement again took aim at Starbuck, calling him a “MAGA bully and Republican-reject” whose “only business experience is hawking vitamins marketed by people profiting off of COVID disinformation.”
The activist, Robinson said, “is so extreme that the Tennessee Republican Party sought to distance itself from him,” an apparent reference to his failed 2022 bid to represent the state as a write-in candidate.
“Hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments is bad for business and leaves Ford’s employees and millions of LGBTQ+-allied consumers behind,” she said. “With nearly 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding $1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.”
HRC’s press release also notes that Starbuck has urged companies to “remove themselves” from the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, even though every Fortune 500 company is ranked in the survey regardless of whether they participate (by sharing the information and data on which the ranking is based.)
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