Boeing reportedly dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) department as part of an overhaul of its operations ordered by the company’s new top executive — becoming the latest major company to ditch the controversial initiative.
The aerospace giant — which was slammed by tech mogul Elon Musk for prioritizing DEI over safety and quality controls after a near-catastrophic blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight — said staff from its DEI office would be absorbed into another human resources team focused on talent and employee experience, according to Bloomberg News.
Sara Liang Bowen, a company vice president who was put in charge of the now-defunct DEI unit, left the company on Thursday.
“The team achieved so much — sometimes imperfectly, never easily — and dreamed of doing much more still,” Bowen wrote in a farewell post on LinkedIn.
“It has been the privilege of my lifetime to lead Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Boeing company these past 5+ years. Our team strived every day to support the evolving brilliance and creativity of our workforce.”
A conservative influencer who has launched viral campaigns that forced other high-profile companies — including John Deere, Harley Davidson and Jack Daniels — to scrap their DEI policies took credit for Boeing’s overhaul.
Robby Starbuck said he reached out to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and board chair Steve Mollenkopf by email last month to let them know he would wage an online campaign against their DEI policies.
“Our campaigns are so effective that we’re getting some of the biggest corporations on earth to change their policies without me even posting a video first just from the fear they have of being the next company we expose,” Starbuck wrote on X on Thursday.
He added that the “landscape of corporate America is quickly shifting to sanity and neutrality.”
Musk had called out Boeing in the wake of the mid-air incident in January over a filing that appeared to show the company two years ago began using DEI goals as incentives for executive compensation after previously focusing solely on safety and quality controls.
“Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening,” Musk said on X.
In a subsequent, Musk wrote: “People will die due to DEI,” citing a news article on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which had to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a chunk of the plane blew off at about 16,000 feet, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.
The company, which has been embroiled in damaging labor strike, beefed up its DEI initiatives following the death of George Floyd in May 2020 — pledging to increase overall black employment by 20% by 2025.
Last year, Boeing reported that it had increased black employment by 17% since 2020.
“Boeing remains committed to recruiting and retaining top talent and creating an inclusive work environment where every teammate around the world can perform at their best while supporting the company’s mission,” the company said after news broke that it will scrap its DEI department.
Corporate America has gradually moved away from DEI initiatives due to backlash that has grown more intense on social media.
In June, Tractor Supply Co. said it had eliminated DEI roles and withdrew from various DEI-related activities.
John Deere, the agricultural equipment manufacturer, recently ended its support for “social and cultural awareness events,” while Harley-Davidson withdrew from participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Toyota and Ford also announced that they were scaling back their DEI programs and policies.
Critics argue that education, government and business programs which single out participants based on factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unfair and the same opportunities should be afforded to everyone.
Meanwhile, striking Boeing workers will on Monday vote on a proposal that boosts a wage hike to 38% over four years from a 35% increase earlier and offers an improved $12,000 ratification bonus, but does not meet their key demand of a return to a defined-benefit pension.
About 33,000 IAM members have been on strike for seven weeks, shutting down production of most Boeing airline jets including the company’s best-seller, the 737 Max.
The strike began Sept. 13 when more than 94% of workers voting rejected an offer of 25% over four years. Last week, 64% shot down a proposal that would have raised general wages 35% over four years.
With Post Wires