Costco is standing by its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, accusing the conservative lobbyists pushing to abandon them of having a "broader agenda" that isn't actually beneficial to business.
The wholesale retailer's board of directors recently voted unanimously to ask its shareholders to reject a proposal that sought to evaluate the supposed risks of its DEI practices. The shareholders agreed, with more than 98 percent voting to reject the measure at an annual meeting of executives Thursday.
Brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, the proposal cited the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action and the other companies that have since abandoned DEI after pressure from online extremists.
Costco's board wrote that “our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary," and that such a report "would not provide meaningful additional information to our shareholder." Furthermore, the company held that its DEI efforts are "legally appropriate," and that "nothing in the proposal demonstrates otherwise."
"The proponent professes concern about legal and financial risks to the Company and its shareholders associated with the diversity initiatives. The supporting statement demonstrates that it is the proponent and others that are responsible for inflicting burdens on companies with their challenges to longstanding diversity programs," the board wrote. "The proponent's broader agenda is not reducing risk for the Company but abolition of diversity initiatives."
Costco noted that the NCPPR published a document called “Balancing the Boardroom” in 2022 that said CEOs and other corporate executives who are “woke” and “hard-left” are “inimical to the Republic and its blessings of liberty” and “shameless monsters who are willing to sacrifice our future for their comforts.”
Several major U.S. businesses have cited political shifts as they announced the end to their DEI programs, most recently Amazon, Meta, McDonald's, and Walmart. Donald Trump issued a memo Tuesday to federal offices instructing them to close DEI offices, terminate related contracts, and place employees working on DEI initiatives on administrative leave.