John Deere (DE) is the latest company to follow a growing trend in corporate America. The farm supply giant has given in to pressure from a group of its consumers who criticized the company for being too “woke.”
The backlash began when Robby Starbuck, a former Republican candidate for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District in 2022, took to social media platform X on July 9 to reveal that John Deere supports a number of “woke policies” under the watch of its CEO John May.
Related: Microsoft quietly lays off a controversial team following backlash
Some of the policies that Starbuck flagged include the company asking employees to list "preferred pronouns" in all of their communications, supporting and committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, funding a pride event for kids, having LGBTQ+ and race-based identity groups at the company, moving job opportunities to Mexico after laying off U.S. employees, etc.
“The customer is king and most of us just want companies we shop at to stop virtue signaling about divisive social, cultural and political issues,” said Starbuck in a viral post on X, which has over 5 million views.
Some X users took to the comment section under Starbuck’s post to claim they would be boycotting the company for supporting these policies.
Outrageous! All of that disgusts me, too. You had me at the involvement of Bill Gates. I sure hope farmers can find other products to suit their needs and leave the John Deere wokesters to go broke.
— Saga (Guardian Of Ancient Tales) 🎶 (@EllDee369) July 9, 2024
Remember to vote every day with your wallet!
— Dave M (@Wisevaper) July 9, 2024
No John Deere for me!
— RedeemerBroadcasting (@RBINetwork) July 10, 2024
Shortly after the post went viral, John Deere posted a statement on X revealing that it had revised a few of its policies. The company said that it would “no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.”
It also revealed that it will be “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.”
John Deere also clarified in the statement that “diversity quotas and pronoun identification” have never been a part of company policy.
“To best serve our customers and employees, Deere is always listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve,” said the company in the statement. “That’s why we consistently prioritize internal policies that more closely align our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers.”
The move from John Deere comes after Tractor Supply (TSCO) , another farm supply company, also faced outrage from its customers last month after Starbuck exposed that the company supports DEI, advocates for climate change, funds pride events and has LGBTQIA+ training for its employees.
Following backlash, Tractor Supply later announced that it would eliminate DEI job roles and initiatives at the company. It also said that it would stop sponsoring “nonbusiness activities” such as pride festivals and voting campaigns and withdraw its carbon emissions goals.
The crackdown on DEI is gaining momentum in the corporate world. Consumers are beginning to flag companies for having “woke” agendas, and they are not afraid to spend their money elsewhere if a company doesn’t align with their beliefs, and that can have a negative impact on a company’s earnings, which Bud Light has demonstrated last year.
More Retail:
- Sam’s Club customers threaten to end membership over new policy
- Tractor Supply has another boycott on its hands after radical change
- Dior pays a startling low price to produce a $2,780 handbag
Last April, Bud Light faced backlash for having Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media influencer, promote its $15,000 giveaway on Instagram. Many consumers took issue with Mulvaney’s advocacy for transgender rights, and they vowed to boycott the beer brand, which resulted in Bud Light losing the No. 1 as the top-selling beer brand in the U.S.
The brand’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch (BUDFF) , also reported that its U.S. earnings declined by more than 10% during the second quarter last year, which cost the company $395 million in earnings compared to the same quarter in 2022.
As companies face pressure from their consumers on the policies they support, DEI is slowly disappearing in corporate America. DEI jobs have decreased by 5% in 2023 and have so far already fallen by 8% in 2024, according to data from Revelio Labs, which was unveiled by The Washington Post.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
