HRC President Kelley Robinson calls rightwing activist a “Republican reject” after Ford drops CEI

Ford Motor Company is the latest company to announce they are rolling back internal policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). 

The company previously withdrew from external corporate culture surveys such as those administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). But a memo from the company’s CEO Jim Farley, reveals that Ford will be extending the move to DEI. 

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Before scaling back the policy, Ford scored high on external ranking systems like HRC’s that measure companies’ commitments to inclusion by evaluating their corporate policies, practices, and benefits for historically disenfranchised groups.

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Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist who has led a surprisingly effective charge against companies with DEI policies, leaked the document to Reuters on Wednesday. 

HRC president Kelley Robinson condemned the move. “Today, Ford Motor Company abandoned its commitment to hundreds of thousands of employees by cowering to internet troll Robby Starbuck, and signaling that inclusion and other core values are no longer a priority in the workplace,” she said.

HRC “could not be more disappointed to see Ford Motor Company shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders,” she said.

“By failing to support women leaders, employees of color, and LGBTQ+ employees, Ford Motor Company is abandoning its financial duty to recruit and keep top talent from across the full talent pool…in making their purchasing decisions, consumers should take note that Ford Motor Company has abandoned its commitment to our communities.”

Robinson also called Starbuck a “MAGA bully and Republican-reject” whose “only business experience is hawking vitamins marketed by people profiting off of COVID disinformation.”

In 2022, Starbuck attempted to become a Tennessee state representative as a write-in candidate and was defeated.

Starbuck celebrated the move on X, saying, “We are winning and one by one we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America.”

The memo said that Ford took “a fresh look” at its DEI policies and practices as “external and legal environment related to political and social issues,” have taken shape.

LGBTQ Nation reached out to Ford for comment. Ford said that their “communication to our global employees speaks for itself” and that they have nothing to add.

Lowe’s, Jack Daniel’s, and Harley-Davidson have also ended their companies have come under attack from Starbuck. In late June, Tractor Supply Co. also was the subject of a Starbuck campaign and announced that they would end “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” (DEI) programs, stop sponsoring Pride events, and withdraw from carbon emission goals. Just a couple of weeks later, John Deere followed suit.

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