Ford walks back 'woke' DEI policies, joining growing list of US companies

Ford Motor Company is backing away from some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, becoming the latest American firm to pump the brakes on "woke" policies this year and joining the likes of John Deere, Lowe's and Tractor Supply.

Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations' woke policies, reported on X on Wednesday that he was in the middle of an investigation of Ford when the company sent him documentation indicating that it had made some changes.

Starbuck posted a letter from Ford CEO Jim Farley to employees, where the chief executive stated that "the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve," and thus in the past year, the company has "taken a fresh look at our policies and practices."

In the letter, Farley laid out a series of bullet points, telling the Ford workforce that the company does not utilize quotas in hiring, and saying that it prioritizes its resources for business purposes "versus publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day." Farley said that the company has "evolved" its Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), noting that all its ERGs are open to all employees.

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Farley also informed employees that Ford had made the decision earlier in the year to no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which is an annual survey and report used to gauge "policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees." 

Ford confirmed the authenticity of the letter to FOX Business when reached for comment, and said in a statement, "The communication to our global employees speaks for itself. We have nothing further to add."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
F	FORD MOTOR CO.	10.98	-0.15	-1.35%

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which is one of the largest and most progressive nonprofits in the country, condemned Ford's move in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

"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," HRC President Kelley Robinson said in the statement. 

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Robinson added, in part, "After decades of commitment to inclusion and top ratings on the HRC Foundation Corporate Equality Index, the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Disability:IN’s Disability Equality Index as well as their longstanding philanthropic record funding scholarships for Hispanic students, the Human Rights Campaign could not be more disappointed to see Ford Motor Company shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders."

The HRC issued similar condemnations of home improvement giant Lowe's and Jack Daniel's owner Brown-Forman in recent days, after each reportedly decided to end their participation in the surveys.

HRC blames Starbuck for companies abandoning its surveys, and the anti-woke activist is taking credit.

In celebrating Farley's memo to Ford employees, Starbuck told his X followers, "So far you’ve helped me change corporate policy at Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle, Lowe’s and now Ford."

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He added, "We are winning and one by one we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America."

FOX Business' Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.