Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, announced it will no longer consider race and gender policies when awarding supplier contracts after facing pressure from conservative activist Robbie Starbuck.
The company is backing away from several diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives after criticism that they hurt certain groups.
As part of the changes, Walmart is ending the Center for Racial Equity, a nonprofit that received $100 million in funding from the retailer in 2020. The company will also end some racial equity employee training, and review its support of Pride events. , and withdrawing from the ratings of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group.
Additionally, Walmart said it will monitor online merchants for sexual or transgender products marketed to children and remove items deemed inappropriate.
The commitments come after Robbie Starbuck, the “anti-woke” conservative activist and former music video director, threatened to mobilize his 700,000 followers on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to boycott Walmart before Black Friday if changes are not made. In a post on the
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of DEI policies, amplified the news by retweeting an article about Walmart’s decision, commenting, “The tide has turned.”
Walmart, which employs 2.1 million people and has a market capitalization of about $740 billion, claimed it was already reviewing some of its DEI policies ahead of the talks with Starbuck. “We are ready for change alongside our partners and customers who represent all of America,” the company stated.
John Forner, president and CEO of Walmart US, addressed the policy changes during an interview with CBS News, saying, “Like many companies across the United States, we’ve been on a journey and we’re still on a journey. What we’re trying to do is make sure That every customer, every partner, feels welcome to shop here, and feels a sense of belonging.
In October, Walmart reported that in the last fiscal year it sourced more than $13 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers, including companies owned or operated by veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBT community, women, and people of color. The retailer’s latest Culture and Diversity Report noted that people of color represent about 51% of the total U.S. workforce, with 59% of new hires being people of color and 49% women.
The company’s decision sparked mixed reactions. While conservative activists like Starbuck applaud the move toward “corporate neutrality,” others have criticized Walmart for potentially undermining efforts toward diversity and inclusion. Users of Bluesky, X’s competing social media platform, called Walmart “disgusting” and “cowardly” after the announcement.
Walmart now faces the challenge of balancing the demands of different stakeholder groups, as it risks losing customers who support DEI initiatives while trying to appease those who oppose them.