Molson Coors latest to back away from DEI after conservative pressure

Simone Del Rosario: A major beer company is backing away from corporate diversity initiatives. The company took action this week after a conservative activist reportedly told the CEO he planned to expose the company for its woke policies. However, the company tells me this shift started back in March.

We’re not talking about Bud Light…try Coors Light. 

Molson Coors sent a memo to employees this week effectively ending its “DEI” policies, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. In the memo that SAN also obtained, the company said it would stop linking executive incentives to employee representation, cancel supplier diversity goals, and stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index. 

Last year, Molson Coors scored a perfect 100 on the index. HRC labeled it a leader in workplace inclusion, with perfect scores in workforce protections, inclusive benefits, inclusive training and culture, and corporate social responsibility. 

Molson Coors says these changes away from DEI won’t change employee benefits or the culture and that, “We will continue to welcome everyone at our bar.”

Robby Starbuck: Alright, y’all, I got fantastic news for you, another win.

Simone Del Rosario: Conservative activist Ro bby Starbuck is claiming credit for the beer company’s pivot after he says he engaged executives last week. 

Robby Starbuck: I was concerned about woke policies at Coors and DEI policies so I reached out I laid out our concerns and I laid out that we were investigating for a story.

Simone Del Rosario: Starbuck, who has nearly a million followers between X and Instagram, claims to be the force behind similar corporate moves away from DEI from Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, John Deere and Harley-Davidson.

In the memo sent to employees Tuesday, Molson Coors executives said, “In March our HR team began rolling out the next steps of our culture journey, centered on an evolution from our work focused on DEI to a broader view in which all our employees know they are welcome.”

DEI is the latest corporate strategy under attack by conservatives. Companies have been including diversity in business practices since the civil rights movement. But DEI has had a target on it in recent years and this year especially, corporations are backing down. 

Coors ends up escaping a potential boycott bullet that hit its competitor, Anheuser-Busch. Bud Light sales tanked after the company gave transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a can with her face on it, and they never did recover. It turns out beer in particular can be especially vulnerable to a successful, sustained boycott. 

Anson Frericks: People felt that they had an impact, and that’s because Bud Light and Anheuser Busch are publicly traded companies, and their data is released on a quarterly basis about how their sales were impacted, and also is is released on a weekly basis because there are organizations that Get the grocery store data, they get convenience store data, and they can show that the sales are down.

Simone Del Rosario: When Bud Light toppled from its place as America’s best-selling beer, Modelo Especial took its spot at the top. Bud Light is still falling, now in No. 3, but Molson Coors brands Coors Light and Miller Lite are still below it. 

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