“McDonald’s and Coke have both announced no whites will be hired in top positions.”
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No, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola didn’t say they aren’t hiring white people
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- Both companies have announced goals to diversify their workforces but they did not say or suggest that they won’t be hiring white people to top leadership positions.
A bold allegation being shared on social media claims that two big companies — McDonald’s and Coca-Cola — have sworn off white executives.
"McDonald’s and Coke have both announced no whites will be hired in top positions," one Facebook post says.
It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
We found no evidence to support this statement, and McDonald’s Corp. confirmed to PolitiFact that it’s false. The Coca-Cola Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment but Check Your Fact reported in March that a spokesperson for the company said "the claim is fabricated."
In February, McDonald’s announced efforts to diversify its workforce with a goal of increasing the "representation of historically underrepresented groups in leadership roles" in the United States to 35%. At the time, Black people made up 10% of McDonald’s senior level management, Reuters reported.
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There is no mention in the article or in the company’s statement of not hiring white people to leadership roles, nor is there anything to suggest that would happen.
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Coca-Cola, meanwhile, recently announced a goal of hiring a representative workforce so that its employee population across all job levels is aligned with U.S. Census data by race and ethnicity.
But there’s no evidence of the claim in this Facebook post — not in McDonald’s or Coca-Cola’s press releases, not in their Twitter accounts, and not in any news coverage.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook posts, April 13, 2021
Check Your Fact, Fact check: Did McDOnald’s and Coca-Cola announce they will no longer hire white people for executive positions? March 12, 2021
Reuters, McDonald’s ties executive bonuses to diversity, releases workforce data, Feb. 18, 2021
The Coca-Cola Company, Black employee representation goals: Mirroring the markets we serve, visited April 13, 2021
McDonald’s and Coca-Cola tweets about hiring or diversity, searched April 13, 2021
The Coca-Cola Company press releases, visited April 13, 2021
McDonald’s press releases, visited April 13, 2021
Statement from McDonald’s, April 13, 2021
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No, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola didn’t say they aren’t hiring white people
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