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PepsiCo (PEP) , which owns popular food and drink brands such as Pepsi, Lay’s, Gatorade, Tostitos, and more, decided earlier this year to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion program, as have many large companies nationwide.
In February, PepsiCo sent a memo informing employees that it is ending its DEI workforce representation goals and will transition its chief DEI officer to another role. It also said that it is replacing its five-year DEI strategy with an "Inclusion for Growth" strategy.
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In addition, PepsiCo said that it will widen its supplier base to include more opportunities for all small businesses to work for the company and will cease participating in single-demographic category surveys.
Related: PepsiCo sounds alarm on major change in consumer behavior
The change from PepsiCo came shortly after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 21 dismantling the federal government’s DEI programs. In the executive order, he claimed that the programs enforce “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
PepsiCo responds to a major threat
In response to PepsiCo’s changes, the Rev. Al Sharpton sent a letter to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta on April 4, expressing his “profound disappointment” with the company’s cuts to DEI.
“You have walked away from equity,” said Sharpton in the letter.
He also said that PepsiCo’s decision to remove DEI hiring and retention goals, and to break up community partnerships with minority-supporting organizations “are clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle.”
Sharpton, who is president of the National Action Network, also threatened in the letter to lead a PepsiCo boycott.
In response to the letter, PepsiCo has decided to meet with Sharpton and several members of the National Action Network to discuss his concerns.
Related: Target suffers major loss amid massive boycott threats
In a statement on social media platform X, Sharpton said that his meeting with Laguarta and PepsiCo North America CEO Steven Williams yielded a “constructive conversation.”
“This morning, I and several members of NAN met with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and CEO of PepsiCo North America Steven Williams for more than an hour to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments,” said Sharpton in the statement. “It was a constructive conversation, which PepsiCo agreed to hold within the 21 days we gave them to meet. We agreed to follow-up meetings within the next few days.”