JPMorgan Chase Begins To Remove DEI Efforts From Website After CEO Jamie Dimon's Bold Pledge To Take On Conservative Agenda

JPMorgan Chase has begun removing any mention of its DEI efforts from its website, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, had vowed to maintain its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies, despite pushback from the conservative National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC). The center had also suggested that JPMorgan Chase, which employs 300,000 people globally, reexamine executive compensation tied to DEI goals — an initiative it introduced in 2020 through its “accountability framework.” That same year, the company had launched a $30 billion program to promote racial equity in personal finance as well.

In response to the recent pushback, Dimon said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month, “Bring them on. We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community.”

Since then, JPMorgan Chase appears to be taking steps to tone down its public messaging on DEI efforts. The Wall Street Journal states the company has joined Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America to remove or dilute public language on their websites around goals pushing for DEI.

Bloomberg notes that Dimon also intends to retreat on some DEI initiatives, although he says the bank’s attitude towards Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ communities won’t change and that he wants to “lift up society.” He claims the move is related to wasteful spending.

“I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid sh-t, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said, according to Bloomberg. “I’m just gonna cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy.”

Banking is not the only sector shifting gears. In retail, Walmart and Target announced they are rolling back DEI commitments. This has led to consequences for Target with some customers taking their dollars elsewhere after the company announced an end to a program that brought Black-owned businesses to its shelves. Shareholders have also filed a lawsuit claiming they were not warned of the consequences of such initiatives, per AFROTECH™. Furthermore, within tech, Meta and Amazon have also begun rollbacks on DEI programs.

“We’ve said from the beginning that our efforts to ensure diverse and inclusive storytelling would be fluid and change over time,” an Amazon spokesperson told TheWrap on Feb. 13. “We continue to evolve this vital work in concert with our commitment to keep our global audience of viewers at the center of everything we do. Above all, we strive to tell the very best stories, while empowering diverse voices in our storytelling wherever possible.”

Not all companies are folding to the pressure. At the time of this writing Apple, Costco, Ben & Jerry’s, and e.l.f. Beauty are among those maintaining their commitments in DEI.