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John Deere DEI
FILE - Two John Deere on board module cotton strippers, owned and operated by DVB Harvesting, work their way through a field of cotton on Aug. 21, 2020, in Winterhaven, Ariz. John Deere says it will no longer sponsor "social or cultural awareness" events as the agricultural machinery manufacturer becomes one of the latest companies to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures. (Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via AP, File)

John Deere ends support of 'social or cultural awareness' events, distances from inclusion efforts

Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, making the agricultural machinery manufacturer one of the latest U.S. companies to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and CLAIRE SAVAGE
Published - Jul 17, 2024, 04:19 PM ET
Last Updated - Jul 17, 2024, 04:19 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash.

In a statement posted Tuesday to social media platform X, John Deere also said it would audit all training materials “to ensure the absence of socially-motivated messages” in compliance with federal and local laws. It did not specify what those messages would include.

Moline, Illinois-based John Deere added “the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.” But it noted that it would still continue to “track and advance” the diversity of the company, without providing further details on how those metrics would be recorded.

The move from the company known on Wall Street as Deere & Co. arrives just weeks after rural retailer Tractor Supply ended an array of its corporate diversity and climate efforts. Both announcements came after backlash piled up online from conservative activists opposed to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ Pride events and climate advocacy.

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