(Headline USA) Harley–Davidson announced this week that it would end several woke company initiatives after outrage from conservatives and longtime bikers, the New York Post reported.
The classic motorcycle brand came under fire this summer after conservative influencer Robby Starbuck exposed several left-wing policies Harley–Davidson had implemented, including diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring requirements and LGBT training seminars.
“[W]e have not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today,” the company said in a statement posted to X on Monday. “We do not have hiring quotas and we no longer have supplier diversity spend goals.”
We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue on our journey together as one Harley-Davidson. United We Ride. pic.twitter.com/0feGYhTUMh
— Harley-Davidson (@harleydavidson) August 19, 2024
However, as Starbuck noted, Harley–Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz has admitted DEI is a top priority of his.
Zeitz took the job in order to make the iconic company “[a]s diverse as we could possible be as a brand and a business, and celebrate diversity and inclusion,” ” he said recently while receiving a leadership award from the globalist organization Synergos. “… I believe in an incredible American icon and the transformation and the opportunity to contribute positively to a very divisive society.”
Every @harleydavidson rider is going to want to see this. It sure sounds like CEO Jochen Zeitz admits that he took the Harley job because it was an opportunity to transform an American icon into embracing wokeness and DEI.
Read the quotes below carefully. He said this at a… pic.twitter.com/LborUMTGaR
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 13, 2024
The DEI practices, which first came to light in their current form following the 2020 race riots and subsequent efforts by corporations to virtue signal their woke values, have faced blowback both from consumers—in the form of boycotts—and from the court systems, particularly following the Supreme Court’s overturning of so-called affirmative action.
While some companies have tried to retain their DEI practices by rebranding them under a different name, Harley–Davidson claimed it was planning to refocus on its core values—namely, selling motorcycles and related paraphernalia.
“It is critical to our business that we hire and retain the best talent and that all employees feel welcome,” the company said. “… As a consumer brand, we will focus exclusively on growing the sport of motorcycling and retaining our loyal riding community, in addition to the support we already provide to first responders, active military members and veterans.”
Starbuck—who previously has called out John Deere, Tractor Supply and other companies who market their products to conservative demographics—celebrated the announcement this week as a win for the larger movement to abolish wokeness in corporate America.
“We have a movement to bring down DEI and wokeism in corporate America and inject some sanity back into the workplace,” Starbuck said, according to Fox News.
“Corporations can’t ignore our movement anymore. They have to take us seriously,” he added. “They made this statement because we’re obviously having an impact on their customer base.”
