Ford scales back its DEI efforts: ‘We will not use quotas’

Fortune· Brett Carlsen—Getty Images
Orianna Rosa Royle
Updated 4-min read

Ford is the latest company to scale back on “woke” diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives after boycott pressure from anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck.

The former Hollywood music-video director turned conservative activist has pressured several high-profile companies, including Harley-Davidson, to abandon inclusive employment policies. Yesterday, he posted a memo on his X account from Ford CEO Jim Farley announcing that Ford will no longer pursue diversity goals or quotas in its hiring process, at its dealerships, or when selecting suppliers. The memo was confirmed as authentic by Bloomberg.

"We are mindful that our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs, and the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve,” Farley’s memo to employees read.

“Ford does not utilize hiring quotas or tie compensation to the achievement of specific diversity goals,” the letter read. “Likewise, while we continue to develop a dealer body that reflects the communities they serve, we will not use quotas for minority dealerships or suppliers.”

The statement also revealed that the company is ditching entirely its participation “in external culture surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index” as well as “various ‘best places to work’ lists.”

The Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups, developed the index as “the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees.”

Farley also said Ford would be putting its “effort and resources into taking care of our customers, our team, and our communities versus publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day.”

“Issues and events around the world evoke strong emotions and affect us as individuals in different ways,” he concluded. “And while we may have differences of opinion, we can treat each other with respect and civility, recognizing how much we have in common as colleagues and friends.”

Starbuck, who claimed that he was “in the middle of investigating woke policies” at Ford before the company “confirmed” the changes, suggested that the automotive giant will also no longer make “donations to pride events or other divisive events” either.

“Sanity is coming for corporate America,” Starbuck declared to more than half a million followers on X.

Ford didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Diversity and inclusion is so 2020

Diversity, equity, and inclusion became corporate buzzwords after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 unleashed a tidal wave of support for anti-racist policies in the workplace.

In that year, vacancies for DEI roles (managers tasked with diversifying companies) advertised on Glassdoor surged by 55%. However, the recruitment platform has since noted that firms have been quietly laying off staff in such roles at nearly twice the rate of non-DEI roles.

Now, some businesses are publicly rescinding their previous pledges—and Starbuck is one of the major forces pushing them to do so.

Just last week, the right-wing activist announced that Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman had reversed its inclusion policies before he got the chance to start a boycott.

The company shared in a statement that it is removing all its “quantitive workforce and supplier diversity ambitions,” as well as ending its participation in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.

“We launched our diversity and inclusion strategy in 2019. Since then, the world has evolved, our business has changed, and the legal and external landscape has shifted dramatically, particularly within the United States,” the company noted in terms similar to Ford’s.

“We’re now forcing multibillion-dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting, just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose,” Starbuck said.

Who is Starbuck and why is he ‘investigating woke policies’?

Since early June, Starbuck has been “exposing” companies whose diversity pledges are, in his view, out of alignment with their customer base.

A number of firms that rely heavily on a red-state clientele have succumbed.

Already, Starbuck has claimed credit for persuading Lowe’s, tractor maker Deere, farming equipment retailer Tractor Supply, and others to pull back on their DEI programs.

But who is the right-wing commentator? And why has he taken it upon himself to investigate “woke policies”?

The 35-year-old is a former write-in candidate who aimed to represent Tennessee in the U.S. House.

Earlier this year he released a two-hour documentary on X, The War on Children, that accused LGBTQ+ activists, the entertainment industry, and social media platforms of indoctrinating and sexualizing kids.

The Nashville-based activist told CNN that he wants corporate America to stay out of social issues and is only interested in pushing a “neutral” stance, while adding: “It’s corporate accountability for companies that depend on conservative consumers.”

Fortune has reached out to Starbuck for comment.

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