Many companies adopted policies designed to boost the recruitment, hiring and promotion of minority workers following the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020.
Over the last year, however, several major companies, including Walmart (WMT.N), Amazon (AMZN.O), and Meta (META.O), walked back their DEI policies in the face of public pressure and after the November election victory by Trump, who has long criticized DEI initiatives.
Target said on Friday it was rolling back programs aimed at promoting fairness and equality for all races, called the Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives, this year.
The retailer added that it was changing its "Supplier Diversity" team to "Supplier Engagement" in a bid to better reflect "its inclusive global procurement process."
Late last year, bigger rival Walmart said it was cutting some of its DEI initiatives too.
In contrast, on Thursday, Costco Wholesale COST.O shareholders voted strongly against a proposal requesting a report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Minneapolis-based Target has landed in the cross hairs of conservative backlash in the past.
The company has sold LGBTQ-related goods tied to Pride month for years but has faced growing criticism for carrying those products, including from conservative news outlets and Republican politicians, who have claimed certain items at its stores were marketed to children.
