Big news is that John Deere announced July 16 on X that the company is eliminating DEI programs, seemingly following the lead of Tractor Supply Company (TSC) and responding to similar criticism from the same social media commentator that attacked TSC. The post stated that the company is, among other things:
“Auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages, while being in compliance with federal, state, and local laws [and] reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.”
Certainly this would be huge if it is indeed real, but I am not convinced – yet. There are indications this could be fraud perpetrated on the company. I’ve become quite cynical of social media and these days typically double check to confirm the veracity or accuracy of what I read. And that is where my concern arises.
Big companies don’t typically make major announcements on X alone and, as of the night of July 17 (a full day after the X post), the statement is nowhere to be found on John Deere’s website. Indeed, content about the company’s diversity efforts is still available, such as this and in their Code of Business Conduct.
No doubt, I could be wrong and Deere has simply been very slow in officially publishing the announcement and responding to media requests for comment. Perhaps we will know more later today or tomorrow as the X post makes the rounds in major media outlets (some are reporting this while stating they also were unable to verify the veracity or accuracy of the X post). Soon, the company will either officially issue the statement on the company website, or make an announcement refuting the post as a hoax.
Yet even though the statement doesn’t appear to be verifiable, John Boyd, President of the National Black Farmers Association, is already calling for “the resignation of [Deere CEO John] May and boycott of John Deere.”
We’ll publish an update on the situation next week, when we expect things will be more clear.
For the sake of transparency, I don’t directly own any stock in John Deere, nor do I know anyone who works there.
If you aren’t already subscribed to our complimentary ESG blog, sign up here for daily updates delivered right to you.
Photo credit: wolterke – stock.adobe.com
