Harley-Davidson and the company in the USA have been under extreme criticism for three weeks
According to the media, Harley-Davidson has taken steps in recent years to become more committed to social justice, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights. These measures include implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives. These decisions have been sharply criticized by conservative circles, who claim that the brand is betraying its traditional values.
Left: Jochen Zeitz
The current Harley-Davidson “Woke” scandal in the USA was triggered by a conservative influencer named Robby Starbuck, who published a video on the X platform (formerly Twitter) at the end of July 2024. In this video, he harshly criticized Harley-Davidson for introducing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives. This criticism led to significant controversy and calls for a boycott of the brand, particularly in conservative circles and among traditional biker communities
Zeitz said in a speech at the Zermatt Summit in Switzerland in 2020 that he was a “sustainable Taliban.” The comparison with the Taliban and the traditional American company shocked Starbuck and his social media followers. The question now is, why only four years after the speech?
Harley-Davidson denies the allegations!
A statement on the allegations from Harley-Davidson was published on Monday.
For over 120 years, Harley-Davidson has brought the joy of motorcycling to riders around the world, regardless of who they are, where they come from or what they believe. We have a guiding principle: “United We Ride” guides how we run our business, how we treat our employees and underlines our commitment. We are saddened by the negativity on social media in recent weeks aimed at dividing the Harley-Davidson community. As a company, we take this issue very seriously and it is our responsibility to respond with clarity, action and facts. Earlier this year, we initiated an internal stakeholder review to better align the company's activities with the needs of our business and community. Based on our review, we are committed to the following:
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): We see it as the responsibility of every leader to ensure we have an employee base that represents our customers and the regions in which we operate. reflects. It is critical to our business that we recruit and retain the best talent and that all employees feel welcome. That said, we have not operated a DEI function since April 2024 and do not have one today. We no longer have hiring guidelines or supplier diversity spending targets. • Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs): To ensure our BERGs are aligned with the business, we will assign a leadership team member to each of these groups going forward who will focus exclusively on professional development, networking and mentoring. • Sponsorships and Affiliations: We are currently reviewing all sponsorship activities and organizations with which we are affiliated. Actions resulting from this ongoing review include: • All sponsorship activities will be centrally approved and managed through the company or the Harley-Davidson Foundation. • As a consumer brand, we will focus exclusively on growing motorcycling and retaining our loyal rider community, in addition to the support we already provide to first responders, active military and veterans. • The Harley-Davidson Foundation is committed to promoting positive change in Milwaukee, such as the recently unveiled Davidson Park at our Juneau Avenue headquarters. • Harley-Davidson will no longer participate in the HRC assessment in the future. • Employee training: The company continually evaluates its training offerings to ensure they meet the needs of our workforce. The training provided will focus on the needs of the business and will not contain socially motivated content - only legal training has ever been mandatory at Harley-Davidson.
We believe that both a broad employee and customer base is good for business and that ultimately everyone should experience the joy of riding a Harley-Davidson. We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue our journey together as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world. UNITED WE RIDE
Translated to the best of my knowledge! Original in the facility.
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Could you have predicted the reactions beforehand?
In 2003, at the 100th Harley-Davidson Anniversary in Milwaukee, the following situation occurred. An international star was announced as a surprise guest at the event in Veterans Park. 200,000 bikers were expected at the event. There were rumors about who was coming, but they didn't want to believe it; the bikers were hoping for Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen. The Stones were actually in Europe at the time, but that would have been a real surprise.
Surprise guest 2003! Then came Elton John!
Elton John.Elton John? He's not American, certainly not very male and far from hard rock. John's last rock song came at a time when Harley-Davidson was still owned by AMF, that was the feedback after Elton at Harley-Davidson's 100th Anniversary. Boos and thousands of bikers left Veterans Park early in 2003. So much for that!
Symbolic image - Jochen Zeitz is symbolically the bull surrounded by lions of the Harley-Davidson US community
The Harley-Davidson US community is rebelling!
The current “Woke” scandal at Harley-Davidson has caused considerable outrage in the USA, particularly among conservative circles and some bikers. The term “woke” is used here to describe the perception that Harley-Davidson is too committed to social justice, diversity, equality and LGBTQ+ rights.
The controversy was sparked by a number of actions and events, including support for LGBTQ+ initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the company. This has led to criticism from some quarters who believe that Harley-Davidson has strayed too far from its traditional "rebellious" and "patriotic" brand.
Accusations of being “woke” led to a boycott call led by conservative activists like Robby Starbuck. This topic was particularly on everyone's lips at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, one of the largest and most traditional motorcycle gatherings in the United States, and many bikers expressed their disappointment with the company's change of direction.
Hardly any visitors at the Harley-Davidson stand during the Sturgis Rally 2024.
This controversy reflects the broader societal conflict in the United States, with companies increasingly drawn into cultural and political debates. The reaction to Harley-Davidson's suspected involvement in these issues shows how deeply divided opinions about such initiatives are in society.
In the USA, a real scandal has literally arisen that will now cause a lot of trouble for the German Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz. Fox News and similar conservative news outlets have also reported on the scandal, often from a critical perspective of the "woken" actions of Harley-Davidson, USA Today , Sky News , Insane Throttle , Sean Strickland MMA Fighter, Robby Starbuck and many other media outlets, Celebrities and influencers took part.
The hardest contribution certainly comes from “Columbia War Machine” , they blew up a Harley-Davidson.
Columbia War Machine – Harley-Davidson Went Woke! This is how I destroyed my bike!!!
Elon Musk comments on the topic on his platform X!
It is well known that Elon Musk and Donald Trump are not particularly convinced by this development. Harley-Davidson is an American icon - a Harley-Davidson should be produced in the USA and not, for example, in Thailand. Until now it was always said that Harleys for the American market were only manufactured in the USA. There are currently unconfirmed considerations to move further parts of production to Thailand, which would affect the Powertrain Operations plant in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin .
HARLEY DAVIDSON - GO WOKE, GO BROKE? 28
FOX NEWS – Is Harley-Davidson going 'woke'?
The Harley-Davidson community in the USA is upside down!
You can't really imagine what's really going on in the USA on this topic. Jochen Zeitz portrays them as a Marxist, especially after his speech that he gave in the “humanizing globalization ”forum. Note the color substitution of the lettering in the upcoming video at minute 4:40. In the end it was too much of a good thing for some bikers.
However, Harley-Davidson's current statement has provided clarity for the future; we can only guess whether the change of heart was achieved through pressure from the community or was actually a groundbreaking business decision.
EXPOSED: Marxist Harley Davidson CEO Admits He HATES Capitalism | Customers RAGE in BOYCOTT
The Harley-Davidson Menomonee Falls plant
The Powertrain Operations Plant in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is one of Harley-Davidson's primary manufacturing facilities and focuses on the manufacture of engine and transmission components. There are indications that Harley-Davidson wants to move production of the Revolution Max engines to Thailand. I visited the factory last year; parts were already being packaged there that were ultimately assembled in Thailand. Last year, the employees on site secretly suspected that noticeable changes could come at some point.
The decision is also seen in the context of Harley-Davidson's efforts to expand production of its LiveWire electric motorcycles in the United States, potentially freeing up capacity previously used for its Revolution Max power units. It should be borne in mind that electrical engineering may require different employee qualifications.
You can feel the emotions of the employees in the engine factory
In summary, the relocation of production from Menomonee Falls to Thailand has created significant tensions and uncertainties, both within the company and among the broader public and unions. Anyone who has ever been to this engine factory will inevitably feel the spirit of the brand, which is also transmitted by the employees. They don't wear normal work clothes there, they wear Harley-Davidson T-shirts here, not everyone, but most of them wear their shirts.
The crucial difference is that the Harley-Davidson models for the American market are intended to be manufactured and assembled exclusively in the USA. The big question that remains is what will happen with the models that Revolution Max engines will run on, which has further fueled the current situation.
In any case, various things have now come together and the influencer Robby Starbuck was certainly a major trigger. After Harley-Davidson officially published its current statement on X, we have to see whether that is really enough for the Harley-Davidson US community.
Harley-Davidson shares are unimpressed and stable by the Woke scandal
The Harley-Davidson share price has so far been unaffected by the scandal. The scandal is seen as having little impact on core customers, who remain loyal and less sensitive to such controversies. This confidence in Harley-Davidson's long-term value and market position has helped keep the stock surprisingly stable so far.
The stock has fallen by around 6.7% since the beginning of the year, although it is currently around 23% below its 52-week high of March 2024. The stock was weighed down by various factors, including weaker sales and challenges in the global market environment. However, despite these declines, the company remains financially stable and has continued to invest in share buybacks to support the share price. Analysts still see long-term challenges in the market, and minor turbulences are not particularly unusual for the stock.
Let's hope this drama is over soon and the company can concentrate on the actual problems.
