Dive Brief:
- McDonald’s is ending its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within its supply chain and “retiring setting aspirational representation goals,” per a letter to employees and suppliers made public Jan. 6.
- Despite the change, McDonald’s said it met its U.S. goal of spending 25% of its supplier budget with diverse-owned companies three years ahead of schedule, the letter says.
- The company said it will continue to report demographic information about its board, employees and suppliers in an annual report, according to the letter, which was signed by several executives, including EVP and Global Chief Supply Chain Officer Marion Gross.
Dive Insight:
McDonald’s is also abandoning its DEI initiatives across the rest of the company in favor of a focus on “inclusion,” following a “comprehensive” civil rights audit it completed last year, per the letter.
The company said it weighed several factors in making the change, including shareholder proposals, the 2023 Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action and decisions by other companies that have re-evaluated their own programs.
As it moves away from its DEI pledge for its supply chain, McDonald’s said it will conduct “more integrated discussions with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance.”
McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment to elaborate on what these discussions would entail.
The fast food giant’s actions follow a similar exodus from DEI commitments made by brands across multiple industries. Last summer, Harley Davidson canceled its supplier diversity spending goals in addition to implementing other DEI rollbacks, while Tractor Supply eliminated its DEI roles, among additional DEI-focused cuts.
Several companies in the technology sector have also reversed course on DEI recently, including Amazon, Microsoft and Meta. The Facebook owner specifically is ending its supplier diversity initiative as part of its DEI rollback.
