Costco shoppers shared their opinions about the company’s “commitment” to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the wake of many other retailers scaling back their DEI efforts.
“Baloney, to be honest with you. I think they should get rid of it,” Robert of Madison Heights, Michigan told Fox News Digital. “Puts people in there that aren’t qualified to do this, to do the job that they’re hired for.”
Shoppers in Michigan, Texas and New York spoke with Fox News Digital while they were shopping or pumping gas at the retail store.
Several customers shared similar sentiments as Robert, evoking the term “merit” when prompted to respond to whether DEI has valid implications.
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“I mean you hire on merit alone,” Clara in Tomball, Texas said.
“I think it should be merit based,” said Laura, a Texas resident.
Costco shareholders voted earlier this month to reject an anti-DEI proposal brought by activist shareholder group National Center for Public Policy Research.
While Costco is standing firm behind its DEI policies, many other corporations have announced plans to ditch the controversial programs following a nationwide backlash. Facebook, McDonald’s, Walmart, Harley-Davidson and many other companies have all rolled back their DEI programs in recent months.
Costco is bucking the trend and appears to have the support of some of their customers.
“I support DEI practices,” Texas resident John told Fox News Digital.
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“I think they need to include everybody. That’s where this planet is going. It’s truly about the whole and not the few,” Allen, a Texas resident, said.
While pumping gas at a Costco in Madison Heights, a patron was asked whether Costco should care more about hiring practices with DEI objectives or lowering grocery prices.
“I would say DEI because the person is more important,” Carol said.
She added that she does not agree with President Donald Trump’s position to get rid of DEI policies in the federal government.
However, a patron in Harlem told Fox News Digital that the retailer should care more about the price of groceries.
“The price of groceries. Yeah. Too much. Too much. Are you kidding me? I mean, I’m working. I have a little pension, and I still can’t make ends meet,” the shopper said.
A customer, who did not disclose his name, said he is a “huge fan of DEI.”
“I think there’s a lot of ignorance out there,” he said. “I really do. I mean, I think we have a history of just being discriminatory in this country. And I don’t think that it improves anybody’s life if you don’t support programs like that.”
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