World’s Top Automaker Slashes DEI Policies After Conservative Pressure Campaign

Auto industry giant Toyota is making plans to ditch diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and pro-LGBTQ events after being involved in online controversy, a report from the New York Post says. The Post cites Bloomberg‘s latest piece revealing that the company blasted out a memo to employees working in the United States on Thursday, pledging to “narrow community activities to align with STEM education and workforce readiness,” and would from that point forward no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

The week prior to the memo going out, an anti-woke activist and filmmaker, Robby Starbuck, provided details concerning several “woke” initiatives within Toyota Motor Corp. Some of these include sending cash to groups that are against banning gender transition treatments for minors, forming Employee Resource Groups that are divided along gender and racial lines, and the sponsoring of a drag queen program at a summer camp aimed at children. Starbuck was pleased by the action taken by Toyota in their memo from Thursday, going on to share more of the memo’s contents.

“In the message to employees, Toyota reportedly said while it will continue to ‘encourage an inclusive environment where diversity of thought can flourish,’ the company will be primarily focusing on activities that promote the quality of the business,” the report said.

“We will work to ensure that the activities and events are focused on professional development, networking, mentoring and volunteering—team member engagement that drives our business. Furthermore, we will work to ensure all company activities are aligned with our values and create an inclusive environment for our team members,” the memo reportedly stated.

“I have to give the executives credit for taking this unifying action. It’s not easy to do but they’re preparing their business for future success by adopting corporate neutrality. The companies who adopt neutrality will win the future because they don’t violate the core beliefs of the consumers they rely on,” Starbuck stated in a post on X.

A spokesman representing Toyota spoke with Bloomberg, saying, “Starbuck’s public attack drew a few hundred queries from employees, questions from a ‘small population’ of dealers and about 30 customer calls to its call center.”

He then said the impact was “negligible.” Toyota isn’t the only company to recently take this route away from wokeness after an elaborate online campaign by Starbuck. Back in August, the Ford Motor Company confirmed they were going to distance themselves from woke policies, an announcement that came from a letter that was written by the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, and addressed to workers.

“In the letter, Farley laid out a series of bullet points, telling the Ford workforce that the company does not utilize quotas in hiring, and saying that it prioritizes its resources for business purposes ‘versus publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day.’ Farley said that the company has ‘evolved’ its ERGs, noting that all its ERGs are open to all employees,” the NY Post reported. “Lowe’s, Molson Coors, and John Deere have also walked back woke policies in recent months.”