Alignment: Rolled back DEI policies in August 2024 after conservative pressure: exited the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, ended employee-resource-group sponsorship of external events, and stated explicitly the company “will not use quotas” in hiring; was among the first Fortune-100 companies in the broader 2024 DEI retreat.
Summary
Ford Motor Company announced in an internal memo in August 2024 that it would scale back significant portions of its diversity, equity, and inclusion program. The changes included withdrawing from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, restricting employee-resource groups from sponsoring external events, and explicit statements that Ford would not use quotas. The move came amid public pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck and was widely cited as a major early signal of the corporate DEI retreat.
Claims & Sources
Claim 1: Ford modified its diversity policies in August 2024.
Sources: Reuters — Automaker Ford to modify diversity policy, internal memo says; Fox Business — Ford walks back “woke” DEI policies; New York Post — How Robby Starbuck is prompting brands like Ford to ditch DEI.
DEI hiring goals & quotas (heavy-weighted criterion): In August 2024, Ford CEO Jim Farley told employees the automaker would stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and would no longer set quotas on diversity hires or use diversity-based criteria in dealer or supplier programs.
Source: Reuters — Automaker Ford to modify diversity policy, internal memo says
Related Brands in Auto
General Motors · Tesla · Toyota · Stellantis