(Reuters) – Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: ) shareholders voted against a proposal requiring a report on the risks of maintaining diversity and inclusion initiatives, the U.S. company said on Thursday, amid intense scrutiny of such policies.
The vote was seen as an early test of investors’ views on the value of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which many companies have added or strengthened starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
More than 98 percent of shareholders voted against it at the annual meeting, Costco said.
Last year, shareholder resolutions opposing DEI programs and other corporate social issues averaged less than 2% support.
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing government agency heads to end DEI policies at federal agencies, federal contractors and the private sector.
He also suggested that some companies would face investigations and legal action if their programs were found to be discriminatory.
The proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research, which describes itself as a free-market think tank, asked Costco to assess the potential business risks associated with its DEI policies.
The group argued that such efforts could pose legal, reputational and financial risks, potentially affecting shareholder returns.
Costco’s board, which urged a vote against the proposal, said the report would not provide “meaningful additional information” to shareholders.
Companies such as Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: ), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: ), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: ) and Boeing (NYSE: ) have modified their initiatives, dropped their DEI goals, or ended their corporate equity participation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation index.
The membership-only retailer has more than 300,000 employees worldwide and about 219,000 in the United States, according to its 2024 annual report.
