Best Buy has become the latest major U.S. brand to face a Bud Light-style boycott, with critics accusing the company of pursuing a far-left agenda in its hiring practices.
“A Citizen Journalist has revealed Best Buy is partnering with McKinsey & Company on a management training program,” wrote James O’Keefe, the investigative journalist formerly of Project Veritas, on social media. “The program is not open to white applicants.”
That memo, which Best Buy has not commented on, revealed opportunities for workers on how to ascend in the company’s management if they meet certain qualifications.
“We’re excited to announce awesome news about the McKinsey professional development programs! As a part of Best Buy’s commitment to develop and support our employees, we’ve partnered with McKinsey & Company to offer the McKinsey Leadership programs,” it says. “These professional development programs customize its curriculum and discussions to the unique situations, experiences and opportunities of diverse professionals.”
But in order to qualify for the program, the memo says that employees have to be black, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander. They also need to have worked at Best Buy for more than a year and be in a salaried role, according to the alleged memo.
The electronics retailer announced a recent diversity push on its website in July 2022, saying that it would help create “diverse leaders” and develop a “diverse workforce.”
“Our main focus through the collaboration of the cohorts is to create a space where everyone feels valued and included,” Best Buy senior manager of strategic initiatives, inclusion and diversity Georgia Vahoua said on the company’s website. “In addition to the core leadership and management skills that are learned, each cohort also provides a strong networking opportunity for its members that lasts long after the program ends.”
Best Buy, meanwhile, has said it would partner with McKinsey & Company, a consulting company that has been involved in a number of controversies—namely the 2001 Enron collapse—to offer the McKinsey Management Accelerator program.
