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Agricultural machinery maker John Deere announced this week that it was scaling back a series of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The company said in a statement Tuesday that it was eliminating or modifying several internal policies and practices, adding that “customer trust and confidence are of the utmost importance to all of us at John Deere.”
“The company will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals or events,” the statement read.
John Deere also announced that it would “audit all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure they are free of socially motivated messaging” and that it would “internal reaffirm that diversity quotas and pronoun identification have not been and will not be company policy.”
DEI in the Workplace:The initiative may be under attack, but many companies aren’t backing down from their commitments
John Deere focuses on consumer ‘trust and confidence’
The company also announced that all employee resource groups will now be focused on “professional development, networking, mentoring and supporting recruiting efforts.”
The announcement said the changes stem from the company’s commitment to responding to customer feedback.
“To best serve our customers and employees, Deere is constantly listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve,” the statement read. “That’s why we continually prioritize internal policies that more closely align with our business strategy to meet our customers’ needs.”
John Deere did not respond to specific customer feedback, but the company came under attack on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) earlier this month from conservative activist Robbie Starbuck.
In a July 9 post, Starbucks accused John Deere of funding Pride events for children, encouraging employees to include preferred gender-based pronouns in all company communications, and setting up employee resource groups focused on people of color and LGBTQ people.
Social media campaigns targeting agricultural companies
John Deere is the second agriculture company to scale back or eliminate various DEI initiatives in recent months.
In June, Tractor Supply Company, a Tennessee-based agricultural supplies and inputs retailer, announced significant cuts to its DEI program and carbon emissions goals, including the elimination of all DEI positions at the company.
These changes are also the result of a weeks-long social media campaign led by Starbucks.
Many Companies Stick to DEI Programs: Survey
Despite Tractor Supply and John Deere’s recent moves, 96% of corporate social impact professionals from 125 major companies say their DEI efforts have either increased (13%) or stayed the same (83%), according to a new survey provided exclusively to USA TODAY by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals and Blackbaud’s YourCause.
But if you think you’re hearing less about DEI initiatives, that might be a good thing: The survey found that 17% of respondents said they talk less about work with people outside their organization, and nearly a third of executives said their descriptions of initiatives have changed.
Contributing writer: Jessica Gain, USA TODAY
Max Hauptman is a trends reporter for USA Today. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
