DEI Updates: Target, Costco

Target (Minneapolis) has joined several other high-profile businesses in rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, report a variety of news sources, including CNBC. In a memo sent to its employees, Target said 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.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Kiera Fernandez, Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer, wrote 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.”

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.

A Target spokesperson told CNBC there will be no job cuts as part of its DEI announcement.

The discounter joins a growing list of companies, including Walmart, McDonald’s, Tractor Supply, and Facebook parent Meta, that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals, CNBC notes. 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.

But not all companies have joined the trend. Last week, Costco Wholesale Corp. (Issaquah, Wash.) said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review the risks of its DEI programs. Costco’s board of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.

“Our success at Costco Wholesale has been built on service to our critical stakeholders: employees, members and suppliers,” the board wrote in its proxy statement. “Our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion follow our code of ethics.”