Pilots everywhere rejoice!
By Ariel Zilber | New York Post
Boeing reportedly dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) department as part of an overhaul of its operations ordered by the company’s new top executive — becoming the latest major company to ditch the controversial initiative.
The aerospace giant — which was slammed by tech mogul Elon Musk for prioritizing DEI over safety and quality controls after a near-catastrophic blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight — said staff from its DEI office would be absorbed into another human resources team focused on talent and employee experience, according to Bloomberg News.
Sara Liang Bowen, a company vice president who was put in charge of the now-defunct DEI unit, left the company on Thursday.
“The team achieved so much — sometimes imperfectly, never easily — and dreamed of doing much more still,” Bowen wrote in a farewell post on LinkedIn.
“It has been the privilege of my lifetime to lead Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Boeing company these past 5+ years. Our team strived every day to support the evolving brilliance and creativity of our workforce.”
A conservative influencer who has launched viral campaigns that forced other high-profile companies — including John Deere, Harley Davidson and Jack Daniels — to scrap their DEI policies took credit for Boeing’s overhaul.
Robby Starbuck said he reached out to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and board chair Steve Mollenkopf by email last month to let them know he would wage an online campaign against their DEI policies.
“Our campaigns are so effective that we’re getting some of the biggest corporations on earth to change their policies without me even posting a video first just from the fear they have of being the next company we expose,” Starbuck wrote on X on Thursday.
He added that the “landscape of corporate America is quickly shifting to sanity and neutrality.”
Musk had called out Boeing in the wake of the mid-air incident in January over a filing that appeared to show the company two years ago began using DEI goals as incentives for executive compensation after previously focusing solely on safety and quality controls.
“Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening,” Musk said on X.
In a subsequent, Musk wrote: “People will die due to DEI,” citing a news article on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which had to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a chunk of the plane blew off at about 16,000 feet, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.
The company, which has been embroiled in damaging labor strike, beefed up its DEI initiatives following the death of George Floyd in May 2020 — pledging to increase overall black employment by 20% by 2025.
Last year, Boeing reported that it had increased black employment by 17% since 2020.
“Boeing remains committed to recruiting and retaining top talent and creating an inclusive work environment where every teammate around the world can perform at their best while supporting the company’s mission,” the company said after news broke that it will scrap its DEI department.
Corporate America has gradually moved away from DEI initiatives due to backlash that has grown more intense on social media.
In June, Tractor Supply Co. said it had eliminated DEI roles and withdrew from various DEI-related activities.
John Deere, the agricultural equipment manufacturer, recently ended its support for “social and cultural awareness events,” while Harley-Davidson withdrew from participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Toyota and Ford also announced that they were scaling back their DEI programs and policies.
Critics argue that education, government and business programs which single out participants based on factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unfair and the same opportunities should be afforded to everyone.
First published on the New York Post
Boeing has dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department, making it the latest high-profile corporation to make changes to its DEI policy https://t.co/6qtzTFQg8T
— Bloomberg (@business) October 31, 2024
WINNING: Boeing has abolished its DEI department. Earlier this year, we published a story showing how DEI was undermining competence at the company. Insiders tell us it helped put pressure on the new CEO, who made the decision to shutter the department. pic.twitter.com/9o6NFAyQro
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 31, 2024
I was invited to present for three minutes on DEI at today’s Boeing shareholder meeting, which is obviously very exciting. You can hear my full but brief testimony here! pic.twitter.com/r7ivvVrNFP
— James Lindsay, anti-Communist (@ConceptualJames) May 17, 2024
Let’s have a close look at Boeing and DEI!
Boeing’s corporate filings with the SEC reveal that in beginning 2022, the annual bonus plan to reward CEO and executives for increasing profit for shareholders and prioritizing safety was changed to reward them if they hit DEI targets. pic.twitter.com/kBU7wWw9Mk
— James Lindsay, anti-Communist (@ConceptualJames) January 10, 2024
An insider explains what has gone disastrously wrong with Boeing
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