Nissan Rolls Back Diversity Policies as Activist Claims Another Win

Nissan Motor Co. has become the latest major company to rollback key diversity initiatives amid mounting pressure from conservative activists, including online influencer Robby Starbuck, as they try to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion policies from corporate America.

The automaker’s Americas unit reviewed its diversity programs following questions from employees and “other engagements,” Jeremie Papin, the outgoing chairman of Nissan Americas said in a letter to employees, according to a video by Starbuck on social media platform X. Nissan’s spokesman confirmed the contents of the letter.

The regional unit of the Kanagawa, Japan-based company will stop participating in surveys or activities with outside organizations that are “heavily focused on political activism,” the letter said. It will also align employee training with core business objectives, the letter said.

Nissan’s letter echoes similar moves by more than a dozen companies, from rival Toyota Motor Corp. to Walmart Inc. and Harley-Davidson Inc. Starbuck says the companies agreed to change their DEI programs after he threatened them with starting consumer boycotts using his influence over his more than 700,000 followers on X and other platforms. Some of the companies have said that they were considering changes anyway.

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“Nissan Americas’ DEI efforts bolster our heritage of always daring to do what others do not,” Papin said in Nissan’s 2023 diversity report. In the same report, Chandra Vasser, Nissan’s chief DEI officer, said “While other companies may shy away from DEI, it is front and center at Nissan, starting on an employee’s very first day.”

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