John Deere Quickly Changes Tune: DEI Is Now DEAD

The green tractor company went from selling farm equipment to punishing employees for not agreeing with their woke agenda—until a recent abrupt change.

Employees at John Deere have been punished for views that are contrary to the company’s woke agenda and the CEO led the call for informants to snitch on those who didn’t comply. Thanks to Robby Starbuck and employee whistleblowers who exposed the woke agenda, John Deere just reversed course. Let’s look at how it all unfolded.

A message from John Deere’s CEO John May encouraged his employees to snitch on each other if they saw any violations of the diversity code. May further required his employees to complete diversity awareness training which included an obligation to understand “unconscious bias,” and employees had to integrate DEI into everything they did. If they didn’t acknowledge and celebrate the pro-trans, woke agenda they risked losing their job.

(Read more: $83 Million in Taxpayer Handouts to LGBT Groups Under Joe Biden)

The company’s website revealed their wokeness but has since been updated. Employees were told to use their “personal pronouns (such as …they/them/theirs).” The John Deere benefits department provided a link to a website explaining that “gender exists on a spectrum” and using the wrong pronoun is a form of hostility and microaggression. Employees had no choice but comply or face the consequences.

An organization called Out & Equal praised John Deere for offering “branded Ally Badges to go on employee badges and Safe Space magnets for employees’ desks.” Robby Starbuck exposed a shocking John Deere employee training video which instructs employees that it would be a violation of their policies for a woman to share concerns about using the same bathroom as a man pretending to be a woman. So, if you were a John Deere employee you had to tattle on your co-workers for the belief that there are only two sexes, regardless of how the company jeopardized women’s privacy and safety.

John Deere Alienates Its Customer Base

In 2023, John Deere was a diamond sponsor of the Iowa Capital City Pride event, which included a drag brunch and drag performances. The company was also a top-level sponsor at an LGBT job fair in India. An organization called Pride Circle brags that “John Deere is affirmatively hiring LGBT+ talent from across India.” They also sponsored another LGBT organization called Clock, spending over $10,000.

The most egregious act by the iconic company was forcing employees to adopt their woke beliefs. According to John Deere, DEI was “the only global behavioral performance metric upon which all salaried employees are evaluated.”

John Deere pushed the Church of DEI on employees whether they wanted it or not. Anyone who grew up on a farm or in a rural community knows the customer base of John Deere consists of conservative Americans whose church is based on biblical values, not Marxist DEI.

Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant

Robby Starbuck has been exposing what is going on behind the scenes at America’s iconic businesses. He recently opened the curtains on Tractor Supply, a brand loved by conservatives, that was funding sex changes, requiring LGBTQIA+ training for employees, and pushing climate change activism. Once exposed, Tractor Supply quickly changed course and reversed its DEI policies and employees praised the efforts of Starbuck.

When Bud Light made the terrible decision to hire a transgender spokesperson, the backlash was swift and impactful. The company’s sales fell 28 percent in the first three months after their poor judgment of representation. Bud Light changed course but never apologized and their competitors reaped the benefits. Over a year later in June 2024, Bud Light sales were still down nearly 25 percent from the previous year, but their competitors Coors Light and Miller Lite increased sales by over 20 percent.

Earlier this year, Iowa-based John Deere laid off 835 employees. They’re scheduled to cut over 800 more by the end of 2024. They are also moving some of their manufacturing to Mexico—perhaps that was part of the “global diversity” plan. Starbuck points out that only 3 of 11 board members of the company actually have agriculture experience and several strongly support Joe Biden.

In an abrupt turnaround after being exposed by Starbuck, John Deere has committed to no longer participating in or supporting “social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.” They will audit all company training materials and policies to exclude socially motivated messages and will reaffirm that diversity quotas and pronoun identification are not company policy.

When exposed, John Deere did the right thing. How many more companies need sunlight as a disinfectant? It’s time for racist DEI programs to completely DIE in this nation to bring back true equality.

(Read more: $83 Million in Taxpayer Handouts to LGBT Groups Under Joe Biden)

Victoria Manning is a Senior Investigative Researcher for Restoration News and author of "Behind the Wall of Government Schools." She served 8 years as an elected school board member with a master’s degree in law. She also brings the perspective of a military spouse and mother to her reporting.

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