The famous American motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson was recently exposed for a woke corporate agenda that contradicts the values of its loyal customer base. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has made it a mission to expose woke companies, recently set his sights on Harley-Davidson, bringing to light a variety of efforts led by CEO Jochen Zeitz, such as DEI and climate change initiatives.
On Monday, Harley-Davidson addressed the massive backlash against them, issuing a public statement that appeared to backpeddle from its woke stances. The company shared the statement to X with the caption, “We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue on our journey together as one Harley-Davidson. United We Ride.”
The message began, “For over 120 years, Harley-Davidson has brought the joy of motorcycling to riders around the world, no matter who they are, where they come from or what they believe in. We have a guiding principle: United We Ride. It defines how we run our business, treat our people, and underscores our commitment to welcoming all.”
Addressing the controversy Harley-Davidson has created, the company said, “We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community. As a Company, we take this issue very seriously, and it is our responsibility to respond with clarity, action and facts. Earlier this year, we initiated an internal stakeholder review to better align Company activities to the needs of both our business and community.”
The motorcycle brand then discussed several commitments the company has outlined, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; business employee resource groups; and sponsorships and affiliations. Regarding DEI, Harley-Davidson seemed to indicate that its efforts reflect its customer base and that it has not been operating DEI functions lately.
“We see it as every leader’s role to ensure we have an employee base that reflects our customers and the geographies in which we operate. It is critical to our business that we hire and retain the best talent and that all employees feel welcome. That said, we have not operated a DEl function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEl function today. We do not have hiring quotas and we no longer have supplier diversity spend goals,” the company said.
Regarding the employee resource groups, the company said, “To ensure alignment of our BERGs with the business moving forward we will be providing executive management to each group to exclusively focus on professional development, networking and mentoring.”
“The Company continually evaluates its training opportunities to ensure they are right for our workforce. Training provided will be related to the needs of the business and be absent of socially motivated content – only legally required training has ever been mandatory at Harley-Davidson,” the message continued, speaking about the DEI-related employee trainings that have been criticized.
Harley-Davidson’s statement concluded, “We believe having both a broad employee and customer base is good for business and that ultimately everybody should experience the joy of riding a Harley-Davidson. We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue on our journey together as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world.”
