The maker of Jack Daniel’s whisky has said that it will scale back its DEI projects in response to social media pressure after a “anti-woke” activist threatened to initiate a boycott.
Brown-Forman Corp., with a market valuation of $21.37 billion, is the latest firm to discontinue its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, joining Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply, and John Deere.
Major corporations that rely significantly on red state customers have succumbed to boycott pressure from corporate activist Robby Starbucks, who stated that Jack Daniel’s was next on the list, but that the company modified its practices before he had the opportunity to lead the boycott.
Bottles of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey are on display for sale in the gift shop at the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
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“We’re now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose,” Starbuck informed X.
According to a copy of an internal document posted on X, Brown-Forman will stop associating bonuses and compensation to DEI development, withdraw from an annual ranking of companies with an LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere, and abandon efforts to push for a more diverse group of suppliers.
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According to a 2023 annual report, the corporation previously attached 10% of executives’ short-term income to their achievement toward DEI goals.
The Kentucky-based corporation first announced its DEI targets 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,” firm officials wrote in a message to workers on Wednesday.
“With these new dynamics at play, we must adjust our work to ensure it continues to drive business results while appropriately recognizing the current environment in which we find ourselves.”
Brown-Forman shares fell less than 1% on Thursday.
Just a few years ago, social activists urged big firms to adopt comprehensive DEI programs; now, those same companies are responding to calls to reduce those targets, notably led by Starbucks on X.
Workers apply labels on bottles of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Tennessee Whiskey at the company’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
“I mean, the name diversity, equity, inclusion – you would think that’s a good thing,” Mahoney Asset Management CEO Ken Mahoney told The Post. “But the way the companies express it, you squeeze out other potential employees that could have even better performance.”
Mahoney stated that corporations such as Tesla, Home Depot, Wayfair, and Walmart have been phasing off their DEI leadership aspirations when consumers threatened them with boycotts.
“It hurts their image because consumers feel like they’re not putting the best people in place, but rather keeping score,” Mahoney told the newspaper. “And for this group of consumers, we’re not born and raised this way.”
According to a Gallup-Bentley University poll, only 38% of Americans want companies to comment on current events and legislation.
And DEI goals have become more political, with conservative activists calling the programs unfair and liberal activists saying the opposite.
In addition to DEI rules, Starbucks targets companies that participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ-friendly workplace rankings, which previously gave Brown-Forman a flawless score of 100.
“Jack Daniels has clearly reached the sobering conclusion that being hyper-focused on factors other than merit does not increase the bottom line,” said psychologist Jonathan Alpert to The Post.
“In fact, we need not look any further than Target and Bud Light to see how making the move from that of retailers to social justice warriors does not lead to best outcomes, increased sales, and improved public image.”
Target’s market valuation fell by $10 billion in a 10-day period last year after shoppers boycotted the firm following the launch of their Pride collection, which included children’s items.
A Target shareholder sued the corporation last year because their shares fell $20,000 after the Pride collection issue.
Bud Light sales plummeted after the beer company released an advertisement featuring transgender social media celebrity Dylan Mulvaney last year.
According to Alpert, DEI rules might foster the feeling of unfairness and alienation among employees.
He stated that his patients have grown to dislike these regulations because they believe they are being passed over for promotions and jobs because of their ethnicity or sexual orientation.
“If DEI initiatives were working we wouldn’t be having this discussion about them right now,” Alpert told the newspaper. “In fact, more companies would be hopping on the bandwagon – but they’re not.”
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