Al Sharpton calls on PepsiCo to restore DEI initiatives, threatens boycott
The Rev. Al Sharpton is giving PepsiCo three weeks to meet with him — or suffer a boycott — to discuss reversing the company’s recent move to do away with its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to a letter shared with The Associated Press. On Friday, Sharpton wrote to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta expressing his “profound disappointment” that the company would end inclusion commitments that both helped build its brand and fostered trust with millions of its customers. “You have walked away from equity,” Sharpton wrote in the letter, adding that removing DEI hiring and retention goals and dismantling community partnerships with minority organizations “are clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle.”