PepsiCo officials have reportedly agreed to meet with the Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights advocates from the National Action Network to discuss the company’s latest DEI removals.
Announced by Sharpton himself, they will meet with CEO Ramon Laguarta to discuss the company’s removal of DEI initiatives and, moving forward, what promises PepsiCo will make to ensure equal employment opportunities. PepsiCo is currently one of the largest food and drink companies, controlling brands such as Doritos, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Cheetos, Quaker Oats, Aquafina, Fritos, Lipton and Lay’s.
Earlier this month, on April 4, Sharpton penned a letter to them, calling on them to meet with him within three weeks or risk a boycott. In January, he had previously announced that the National Action Network, the organization he leads, would select two companies that had broken their promises for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to boycott.
PepsiCo has now been identified as one of the two companies. In February, CEO Laguarta sent a memo to all employees, stating that PepsiCo would no longer set goals for increased BIPOC representation in managerial positions and among suppliers.
“Leaders at PepsiCo have agreed to meet this week with civil rights advocates from the #NationalActionNetwork to discuss the company’s recent decision to roll back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Reverend #AlSharpton said on Monday.
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) April 15, 2025
In an April 4… pic.twitter.com/akBFiGgfsO
In his latest letter, Sharpton expressed his disappointment with the company’s decision, highlighting its previous commitments. In the 1940s and 1950s, PepsiCo was one of the first companies to hire Black sales and marketing executives, eventually creating the Black consumer advisory boards in the 1980s.
“You have walked away from equity,” he said per the letter. Sharpton also added that taking away DEI initiatives “are clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle.”
PepsiCo joined a number of large companies that have phased out DEI initiatives. In recent years, there has been a shift in support for DEI as companies marked an 11% decrease in support for the programs from 2023 to 2024, according to executive search firm Bright Partners. Efforts by wealthy leaders, such as Bill Ackman, and conservative activists like Robby Starbuck have increased as they continue to pressure large chains to remove their DEI programs.
The companies that have given in to the pressure include Amazon, Meta, Lowe’s, Walmart and McDonald’s. As the Trump administration continues to remove DEI initiatives on a federal level and encourages a push on an educational level, numerous other companies have followed suit, including Citigroup, Paramount and Victoria’s Secret.
Some companies, however, have reaffirmed their commitment to DEI programs. These companies include Delta, Cisco, Apple, Microsoft and Sephora.
