ALDI Openly Discriminates Against White Applicants in Job Posting
ALDI, a German-owned multinational discount supermarket, is in hot water after sharing a job listing that prioritizes applicants with a variety of backgrounds and disabilities, except for white individuals.
The job listing, posted on February 2, 2024, on the company’s LinkedIn account, was seeking applicants to work as a National Procurement Specialist. The chain announced that it was posting the position in partnership with Jobs for Humanity, an organization that describes itself as “inclusive by design.”
Jobs for Humanity states that it is a “global movement of job creation for underserved communities – basically anyone distant to the labor market.” This pool of “underserved” candidates recently expanded to include the elderly, deaf or hard of hearing, LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, and military veterans, the organization explains.
The job listing clearly explains that Aldi “will prioritize individuals coming from the following communities: Refugee, Neurodivergent, Single Parent, Blind or Low Vision, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Military Veterans, the Elderly, the LGBTQ, and Justice Impacted individuals.”
ALDI incorporated “company-wide unconscious bias training for all ALDI employees” after the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement gained steam around the U.S. in 2020, prompting supporters to riot and vandalize businesses, causing billions of dollars in damages.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion is an extremely high priority for our company,” the business claimed, “we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that values diversity in all forms across our business.”
Popular social media account Libs of TikTok, which shared the news with thousands of users online, accused ALDI of “break[ing] the law and discriminat[ing] against straight white people in their hiring.” Elon Musk appeared to agree in response to the post, writing, “Racism is racism, no matter who it is directed at.”
Other social media users shared their plans to stop shopping at the discount grocer, insisting that ALDI receive the “Bud Light special treatment,” referring to the months-long boycott of the beer brand that cost the company millions in revenue. Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, announced in July that it would be laying off approximately 400 employees after sales continuously tanked by 30%. The boycott was initiated by conservative beer drinkers who were outraged by the company’s partnership with controversial transgender-identifying activist, Dylan Mulvaney.
