Beloved tractor company John Deere has reversed its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies amid backlash and a damaging boycott from farmers and conservatives.
The company said in a statement that it would drop “socially motivated messages” and “diversity quotas and pronoun identification” and distance itself from “cultural awareness parades.”
The $61 billion company has come under fire for sponsoring a Pride event for children ages 3 and up and other DEI initiatives, while closing factories and laying off U.S. workers.
“Our customers’ trust in us is of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere,” the company said Tuesday on X.
“We are determined to earn it every day and in every way possible.”
John Deere, which makes tractors, construction vehicles, lawn mowers and snowmobiles, is the latest U.S. brand to drop its DEI policy
The backlash against John Deere is reminiscent of a similar boycott against Tractor Supply, a retail chain, and last year’s high-profile campaign against Bud Light over a partnership with a transgender influencer, which cost the brewer millions in lost revenue.
Advocates of DEI initiatives say they help companies hire more women and minority talent, but critics call it an annoying, box-ticking exercise that often backfires on white, straight men.
Pictured: John Deere CEO John May earned a total of $26.7 million in compensation last year
Critics slammed John Deere for supporting the Little Rainbow Run at last month’s Capital City Pride event in Des Moines, Iowa, which included toddlers in the LGBTQ+ festivities.
The company also embraced the new gender ideology, including training for staff on the “genderbread person,” which abandons traditional views of sex in favor of the gender spectrum.
John Deere’s website urged employees to use “their personal pronouns” in email signatures, saying it was a “sign of mutual respect” for people who do not identify with their biological gender.
The site also referred to “strengthening the diversity of our workforce” and the need for “inclusivity so that every employee can have the greatest impact as they do.”
Robby Starbuck, a filmmaker and Republican candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2022, launched a pressure campaign against the company last week, saying executives had “forgotten who their customers were.”
The company announced this week that it would roll back the DEI scheme on X. The company said it wanted to maintain the trust of “customers.”
John Deere was criticized for sponsoring a running race for children ages three and up during the Capital City Pride event in Des Moines, Iowa, last month.
The company’s website repeatedly refers to “diversity,” “inclusivity,” and the use of preferred pronouns
The company would, among other things, organize training for staff on the ‘genderbread person’, where traditional views of sex are rejected in favor of the gender spectrum.
John Deere did not reference Starbuck in its statement, but instead said it is “listening to feedback.”
In rolling back its DEI policies, the 185-year-old company, which employs 83,000 people in more than 30 countries, said it would focus its messaging on agriculture, hunger and other issues related to the brand.
That means the organization must cease its support for Pride and other “cultural awareness parades, festivals or events,” the statement said.
The company’s so-called Business Resource Groups, which segregate employees based on race, gender and sexual identity, are being scaled back, the statement said.
Training materials would be stripped of “socially motivated messages” and diversity quotas and pronoun rules would not be an issue, the statement said.
Starbucks responded to the statement by calling it “another great victory in our fight against wokeness.”
“BUT I don’t think this is enough to keep customers coming back,” Starbuck posted on X.
“Customers want to hear that DEI policies have been phased out altogether.”
The backlash against John Deere, known for its leaping deer logo, comes after the company sparked outrage by laying off American workers and moving more of its farm machinery production to Mexico.
Since October 2023, more than 1,000 John Deere workers have been laid off or put into early retirement at various factories in Iowa and Illinois.
Inside a John Deere factory in Ottumwa, Iowa, where more than 100 jobs have been cut this year
Robby Starbuck, the filmmaker and Republican candidate for the 2022 House of Representatives in Tennessee, is on a mission to combat wokery in corporate America
The tractor manufacturer has laid off staff and moved operations to Mexico
More than 10,000 John Deere workers went on strike for five weeks in 2021, winning a 10 percent pay increase for hourly workers and increased pension benefits
John Deere’s Harvester Works facility in East Moline, Illinois, which laid off 225 employees indefinitely in October 2023
In many cases, the production that these American workers were responsible for has been moved to new locations in Mexico.
The criticism was the latest in a series of boycotts by conservatives against well-known brands with progressive policies. The boycotts have hit Bud Light, Target, Cracker Barrel, Tractor Supply, The North Face and many others.
Portrait of John Deere, the man who founded the company that still bears his name today
Many companies that embraced DEI policies following the May 2020 killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd by a police officer later backed away from them for fear of angering conservative customers.
For some, DEI programs are important and necessary because they can help overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to advance in education and the workforce.
Critics say it is a form of reverse discrimination that unfairly targets straight, white men.
Others say that while DEI policies are well-intentioned, they rarely deliver the desired results and often make matters worse by sowing divisions in offices and classrooms.
Known almost exclusively for its green tractors and iconic leaping deer logo, John Deere was founded nearly two centuries ago in 1837.
In its early years, the company produced self-cleaning steel plows, which revolutionized agriculture and replaced the inferior cast iron plow, which bogged down in sticky soil.
Today, John Deere, which still bears its founder’s name, produces everything from tractors and construction vehicles to lawn mowers and snowmobiles.
The company’s headquarters are located in Moline, Illinois.
