PepsiCo representatives met with civil rights leaders from the National Action Network (NAN) after Reverend Al Sharpton threatened to lead a boycott over the company’s decision to scale back parts of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

After sending a letter to the food and beverage brand on April 4, 2025, outlining details of the intended boycott, Sharpton issued a statement on Tuesday, April 15, saying that he and several members of NAN had a “constructive conversation” lasting over an hour with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and PepsiCo North America CEO Steven Williams.

During the meeting at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in Purchase, NY, they had a chance “to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments.”

“We agreed to follow up meetings within the next few days,” Sharpton wrote. “After that continued dialogue, NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and I, both former members of the company’s African American Advisory Board, will make a final determination and recommendation to the organization on what we will do around PepsiCo moving forward, as we continue to deal with a broader swath of corporations with whom we will either boycott or buy-cott.”

In February, PepsiCo, one of North America’s largest food and beverage companies, informed employees it would stop targeting minority representation in its management positions and supplier network, according to The Associated Press.

The company said it would transition its chief DEI officer to a broader role focused on engagement and leadership development, Reuters reported. Additionally, PepsiCo will no longer participate in surveys that target single demographic categories.

According to its website, Pepsi generated nearly $92 billion in net revenue in 2024 through its diverse portfolio of beverages and convenient foods, which includes Lay’s, Mountain Dew, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, and Pepsi-Cola.

By scaling back its DEI initiatives, the company joins several others, including Meta, Amazon, Google, McDonald’s, Disney, Walmart, Microsoft, Target, and Zoom, AFROTECH™ noted, which have also made similar changes since President Donald Trump’s reelection to the White House.

Since returning to office for a second term on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump has signed several executive orders to eliminate DEI initiatives in the federal government and schools, rescinding various measures implemented by the previous administration under former President Joe Biden.

In a Jan. 20 order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” Trump wrote, “The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military.”

“The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination,” he added. “That ends today. Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”