Molson Coors Cuts Back on DEI Policies

By Tom Ozimek

Beer giant Molson Coors is rolling back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, joining other corporations that have similarly dialed down their DEI engagement.

Gavin Hattersley, CEO of Molson Coors, made the announcement in a Sept. 3 memo to employees obtained by The Epoch Times.

The company will discontinue its practice of linking executive compensation to employee diversity representation, cease participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index, and eliminate its supplier diversity goals, Hattersley wrote.

The beer company is also ending its DEI training for employees and carrying out an audit to ensure that all its training programs are focused on key business objectives of growth and a “strong workplace where everyone can thrive.”

“With all U.S. employees having participated in our previous DEI-based training programs, these programs have been completed,” Hattersley wrote.

Molson Coors is also shifting its approach to Employee Resource Groups, renaming them Business Resource Groups, and ensuring their focus is on professional development, business objectives, and consumer dynamics.

“As a reminder, all resource groups have been and will continue to be open to any employee who wishes to join,” Hattersley wrote.

A request for comment sent to Molson Coors on the DEI rollback, including on the rationale behind it, was not immediately returned.

Around 60 percent of U.S. companies have a race- or gender-based DEI program, according to a Harvard Business Review 2022 survey.

With the move to shift focus away from corporate diversity programs, Molson Coors joins a growing list of U.S. companies, including Ford, John Deere, and Harley-Davidson, that have hit the brakes on DEI, which has faced public scrutiny, along with both praise and criticism.

Deere and Co., which does business as John Deere, has said it dialed down what it calls its DEI “mindset.”

The Moline, Illinois-based company said on July 16 that it will stop supporting social awareness events, review training materials to remove socially motivated messaging, and confirmed it doesn’t have any diversity hiring quotas.

At the same time, the company said it stands by its belief that a diverse workforce is beneficial for customers.

“We fundamentally believe that a diverse workforce enables us to best meet our customers’ needs and because of that we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organization,” the company said.

According to an Aug. 28 memo sent to all Ford employees by CEO Jim Farley, the automobile manufacturer has decided to stop participating in external culture surveys, including the annual survey by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which measures workplace inclusion for LGBT employees and provides companies with a score on its “Corporate Equality Index.”

“We will continue to build a high-performance culture focused on ‘what’ we deliver with aligned objectives, high standards, and accountability and, as importantly, ‘how’ we deliver through excellence, focus, and collaboration,” Farley said. “This creates an environment where all of us can do our best work anchored in respect and inclusion.”

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in an Aug. 28 statement that the HRC could “not be more disappointed” in Ford’s decision, calling it “shortsighted.”

Robinson said Ford’s withdrawal from participation in the annual survey and the foundation’s corporate equality index would “have long-term consequences” for the company and called for a boycott of the carmaker.

Harley-Davidson said in an Aug. 19 statement that it will also end its relationship with HRC. The company said that all training initiatives will now be strictly business-focused and free from “socially motivated” content.

Bill Pan, Stephen Katte, and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.