
January 25, 2025
Target employees were briefed via a company-wide message that said the changes would better align Target with their customer base.
Target announced on Jan. 24 that it will scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, initiatives, a move reportedly made to more closely align its workforce and product offerings with its customer base following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
In a memo to employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer revealed plans to end its three-year DEI goals, which include ending Target’s reporting to external diversity organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and ending a program that designed more products to represent Black and minority-owned businesses in their stores.
The announcement memo was released to Target employees this week and was written by Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, and reportedly: shared with CNBC.
The memo said: “Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have shaped this next chapter of our strategy.”
Fernandez continued. “And as a retailer (Target) that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying aligned with the evolving outdoor landscape, now and in the future; »
A Target spokeswoman clarified that so far there are no job cuts planned as part of Friday’s DEI announcement.
This is a stark departure from the sentiments of Target CEO Brian Cornell four years ago.
After the killing of George Floyd, which occurred outside Target’s headquarters in his hometown, Cornell described DEI’s efforts as “personal.” He said the incident of police brutality motivated him to support Target’s diversity efforts.
At that time he said: “It could have been one of my Target team members.”
The cuts to DEI’s efforts will include many of the programs that began after Floyd’s death.
Target launched a program to help black entrepreneurs develop, test and learn to scale their products to mass retail, pledging to spend more than $2 billion in black-owned businesses by this year Another DEI initiative that changes will see, includes $10 million that Target and its affiliates have given to the National Urban League and the African American Leadership Forum, a social to support justice groups.
The company’s decision to cut DEI comes almost immediately after President Donald Trump’s executive order halted all government DEI programs and placed federal officials overseeing the initiatives on leave.Trump signed the order shortly after his inauguration.
Target, whose workforce is about 43% white, 31% Hispanic/Latino, 15% black and 5% Asian, joins several other major companies such as Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s in their Adjacent to their move to delay DEI goals.
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