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On January 24, 2025, the American retail corporation Target announced it would roll back its DEI initiatives, days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end DEI programs in federal contracting after his inauguration.
Several corporations, including Meta, Amazon, McDonald's, and Walmart have all rolled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs ahead of Trump's inauguration on January 20.
According to CNBC, Kiera Fernandez, Target's chief community impact and equity officer, sent a memo announcing the rollback, writing:
“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy. 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.”
The retail giant's rollback of DEI initiatives was met with mixed reviews from netizens. Many called for a boycott of the corporation, adding they would shop at its rival store, Costco. Costco was one of the few corporations that refused to roll back its DEI initiatives in the wake of Trump's executive orders.
"Boycott @Target. I just signed up for my Costco membership today."
Several netizens criticized the corporations's new move. Here are some of their reactions.
"I'd boycott Target, but, unfortunately I never shop there anyway," one person posted.
"This wont end well i think," someone else added.
"Will be shopping at @Costco tonight and never Target," another user wrote.
However, others praised this decision, claiming it allowed for less discrimination.
"It’s exactly what needs to be done. No more racist sexist discrimination," one person tweeted.
"It's unacceptable to put the products their customers want in their own store? If I was a minority I would want to know my product was actually in demand and earned its spot on merit, not because there was a budget to buy products off people that looked like me," another person added.
"It's what they should have been doing all along. Basing everything on merit.," someone else commented.
"A company must focus on buying products from people based on their race?" another user questioned.
Target reportedly strengthened its DEI initiatives following George Floyd's murder
According to CNBC, Target reportedly bolstered its DEI initiatives after George Floyd's murder in 2020. In his 2020 Fortune Global Forum speech, the company's CEO Brian Cornell said:
“Watching what happened to George Floyd, watching his murder, my first reaction was, that could have been one of my Target team members, it could have been one of our leaders."
Target reportedly expanded its DEI initiatives at the time, adding it would increase the hiring of Black employees by over 20% the following year. The retail chain also supported Black entrepreneurs to test and sell their products on a mass level at their stores.
In the recent memo sent on January 24, the company said its rollback included ending its three-year DEI goals, including ending the program that focused on selling products made by Black or minority-owned businesses.
According to CBS News, the DEI goals also included hiring more women and people of color and expanding its supplier chain to cover businesses owned by women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other minorities.
The rollback also saw the end of sending reports to external diversity-focused groups. However, a spokesperson assured that no jobs will be cut as a result of the rollbacks, as per CNBC.
In other news, the wholesale corporation Costco announced that over 98% of its shareholders have voted against a proposal to review the risks of the company's existing DEI initiatives.
According to CBS News, Apple's board members are also asking its shareholders to reject a proposal to abolish its DEI departments, adding the company aims "to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work." The shareholder meeting will be held on February 25.
