XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns

Looks like DEI should become DIE because that's what's happening as
company after company is eliminating this nonsense.

'Target rolls back DEI initiatives, the latest big company to retreat.

<https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/24/target-rolls-back-major-dei-initiatives.html>

'Target is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs,
joining major companies like Walmart, Meta and McDonald’s.
In a memo sent to its employees, Target it will end its three-year DEI
goals, stop reports to external groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more
products from Black- or minority-owned businesses.
In prior years, Target had said the murder of George Floyd in the
company’s hometown of Minneapolis motivated it to strengthen its DEI programs.'

'Target
on Friday said it’s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion
programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers.

In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it
will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external
diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate
Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more products from
Black- or minority-owned businesses.

The memo was sent to staff Friday and viewed by CNBC. It was written by
Kiera Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at Target.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping
this next chapter in our strategy,” she said in the memo. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now
and in the future – all in service of driving Target’s growth and
winning together.”

A Target spokesperson said there are no job cuts as part of Friday’s DEI announcement.

With the move, the discounter joins a growing list of companies
including Tractor Supply
, Facebook’s parent Meta
, Walmart
and McDonald’s
that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals. Some of those
companies faced pressure from conservative activists or cited the
Supreme Court’s ruling blocking affirmative action at colleges — which
may not compel corporations to take any action on the issue.

The company’s decision also follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders, made almost immediately after his Inauguration, to end the government’s DEI programs and put federal officials overseeing those initiatives on leave.

Not all companies have joined the trend. On Thursday, Costco
said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted
against a proposal to review risks of its DEI programs. Costco’s board
of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.

Many corporations’ diversity commitments, including Target’s go back for years and were strengthened in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” protests and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Four years ago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the murder — which
happened just a short distance from Target’s headquarters in its
hometown — felt personal. He said it motivated him to step up Target’s diversity and equity efforts.

“That could have been one of my Target team members,” he said at the
time, recounting his thoughts as he watched the video of Floyd taking
his final breaths.

Target expanded its diversity goals at the time, saying it would
increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20%
over the next year. The company started a new program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test and scale products to sell at mass retailers
like Target. And it promised to spend more than $2 billion with
Black-owned businesses by 2025, from construction companies that build
or remodel stores to advertising firms that market its brand.

The company and its foundation also gave $10 million to support social
justice groups, including the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum.

On its website in recent years, Target has touted Cornell’s and the company’s “steadfast commitment to stand with Black families and fight against racism.” In other posts on its website, the company provided
updates on its efforts to add more officers of color, reduce turnover of
people of color, and increase promotions of women and minorities.

One post was titled “We Are Never Done,” and started off with a quote
from Black poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

Target dissolved the goals at a time when conservative politicians and activists have increasingly turned their focus on company efforts to be
more inclusive.

Target had already felt the heat from conservative groups over some of
its other longstanding initiatives. About two years ago, the retailer
pulled items from its Pride Month collection after backlash and threats
to employees about some merchandise it sold, such as “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for trans people.

Cornell said in 2023 that the backlash contributed to weaker quarterly
sales for the company. He said, however, that it would continue to mark heritage months with merchandise collections, such as Black History
Month and Pride Month.

Target’s employee base had grown more diverse in recent years.

About 43% of Target’s workforce was white, 31% was Hispanic/Latino, 15%
was Black and 5% was Asian in the fiscal year that ended in early
February 2024, according to the company’s most recent diversity report.

The company’s leadership team is less diverse than its overall
workforce. Seventy-two percent of the leadership was white, followed by
11% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian and 6% Black'

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