Al Sharpton meets with PepsiCo after scaling back DEI commitments

• Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton met with PepsiCo executives after the company announced changes to its diversity goals. He had warned the company to respond within three weeks or face a potential boycott of its major brands.
• PepsiCo says it is shifting from setting minority leadership targets to a broader “Inclusion for Growth” strategy focused on business performance.
• The meeting comes amid a national trend of corporations scaling back DEI initiatives, following similar moves by companies like Walmart, Google and Target.

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Rev. Al Sharpton says he met with PepsiCo executives on April 15 following concerns that the company is stepping back from its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The civil rights leader had given the company three weeks to respond to the criticism or face a potential boycott of its popular brands, which include Doritos, Lay’s, Gatorade and Pepsi.

PepsiCo scales back DEI initiatives, focuses on growth

PepsiCo, one of the country’s largest food and beverage companies, outlined a shift in direction in a February memo sent to employees. The company said it would no longer set specific goals for minority representation in leadership and would instead focus on broader strategies to drive overall business growth.

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“I and several members of NAN met with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and CEO of PepsiCo North America Steven Williams for more than an hour to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments,” Sharpton said in a statement.

Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network, was also a member of PepsiCo’s African American advisory board in the early 2000s.

The company has since said it is adopting a new “Inclusion for Growth” strategy. Its website highlights PepsiCo’s longstanding commitment to inclusion, pointing to milestones such as hiring its first African American sales team in the 1940s and appointing women to leadership roles in the 1950s.

The PepsiCo website says, “Our company has a deep history of building an inclusive and respectful workplace culture.”

Sharpton said he expects to meet with the company again in the coming days to determine whether PepsiCo will be added to a boycott list or supported through what he calls a “buy-cott,” encouraging consumers to back companies that maintain DEI commitments.

Sharpton urges Americans to support Costco

Earlier this year, as more corporations began to roll back DEI initiatives, Sharpton urged consumers to support Costco for continuing its diversity programs.

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“That is the only viable tool that I see at this time, which is why we’ve rewarded those that stood with us,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The shift at PepsiCo comes as part of a broader trend. Since January, several major companies, including Target, Walmart, Goldman Sachs and Google, have announced changes to their DEI policies. It followed President Donald Trump’s return to the office. He began dismantling DEI initiatives across the federal government, urging public institutions like schools and colleges to follow suit or risk losing federal funding.