USA 
United Kingdom
The Brown-Forman Corporation, the parent company of Jack Daniel's, has become the latest major corporation to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
In an email to employees on Wednesday, the company announced significant changes to its DEI strategy, citing shifts in the US "legal and external landscape."
"With these new dynamics at play, we must adjust our work to ensure it continues to drive business results while appropriately recognizing the current environment in which we find ourselves," the firm said.
What DEI measures is Jack Daniel's scrapping?
The company will discontinue its goals for workforce diversity and supplier diversity. Additionally, it plans to align its training programs with the new DEI strategy and tie executive incentives and employee goals to "business performance."
The company will also cease participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates policies and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees.
Acknowledging the challenges ahead, the company assured employees, "We know it will not be easy to navigate the road ahead, but please know our deep belief in, and respect for, each of you remains constant."
The move follows a similar decision by Harley-Davidson earlier in the week to end hiring quotas and spending goals for suppliers with diverse workforces.
Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck (real name Robert Newsom) claimed credit for influencing Brown-Forman's decision, stating on social media, "We're now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose."
Starbuck views the changes as significant victories, adding, "Taking a victory lap is an important psychological step. We are building the understanding when we use our voices, they will change. Period. That is the psychological reality that we built."
The move highlights a growing trend of corporations reevaluating their DEI strategies in response to push back from right wing commentators.
