Molson Coors pulls back from DEI, saying earlier programs have been 'completed'

By Bill Peters

The company says the changes mark 'an evolution from our work focused on DEI to a broader view in which all our employees know they are welcome'

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP) has became the latest to say it was backing away from some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, after a handful of well-known companies announced similar retreats last week.

The brewing giant - known for Miller and Coors Light - said it would stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign's corporate equality rankings and move away from "defined" supplier diversity goals, according to a memo to employees on Tuesday. That memo also said that starting next year, the company would take steps to ensure executive compensation was tied to "business performance," and not "aspirational representation goals."

The company said the moves were part of changes, first rolled out in March, that were geared toward "an evolution from our work focused on DEI to a broader view in which all our employees know they are welcome."

"With all U.S. employees having participated in our previous DEI-based training programs, these programs have been completed," the memo said. "We are now in the process of developing the next evolution of our company trainings, focused on growth for our business and a strong workplace where everyone can thrive."

Orlando Gonzales, a senior vice president at Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+-focused civil rights group, said attacks on DEI make workplaces less safe and less inclusive. Others have said that companies retreating from DEI will be less equipped to handle divisions among employees.

"Companies like Molson Coors, Ford, and others are shirking their financial responsibility to their employees, consumers and other stakeholders," Gonzales said in a statement.

"By failing to support women leaders, employees of color and LGBTQ+ employees, these companies are abandoning their financial duty to recruit and keep top talent from across the full talent pool," he continued.

Last week, Ford Motor Co. (F) and Lowe's Cos. (LOW) also disclosed plans to adjust their diversity and inclusion ambitions, following others that have made similar moves this summer. The retreat comes as businesses' diversity efforts face a more precarious legal environment, following the Supreme Court's decision last year to essentially end affirmative action in college admissions, and as conservative activists ratchet up pressure on companies to abandon DEI programs.

One such activist, Robby Starbuck - who has led some of those pressure campaigns online - said in a post on X on Monday that he reached out to Molson executives last week "to let them know that I planned to expose their woke policies."

He said the changes outlined in the memo showed that corporate America was "shifting to sanity and neutrality."

Analysts last year said Molson Coors brought in more business after the conservative-led boycott against Bud Light, following its brief promotional partnership with a trans influencer. This year, however, some said those gains had run their course. Molson Coors last month reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares of Molson were up fractionally after hours on Tuesday, after finishing regular trading 5.4% higher. The stock is down 7% so far this year.

-Bill Peters

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09-03-24 1942ET

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