Costco awarded execs hundreds of thousands in DEI related bonuses

‘The Big Money Show’ explores companies turning against DEI policies while Costco bucks the trend.

Costco doled out hundreds of thousands in bonuses to their CEO and top execs based on diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental metrics between the years of 2021-2024, a Fox News Digital analysis has found.

The grocery wholesaler giant paid CEO Ron Vachris a $93,333 bonus in 2024 based on achieving social and environmental objectives, which included “metrics concerning diversity, equity and inclusion, resource consumption, and other environmental-related areas,” according to their 2024 proxy statement. Other executives were offered $24,000 in bonuses related to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion metrics.

In 2023, then-CEO Craig Jelinek was awarded a $100,000 bonus for meeting environmental and DEI metrics, according to that year’s proxy statement. Other execs were awarded up to a $24,000 bonus for hitting DEI benchmarks. DEI-linked bonuses have been awarded every year since 2020, Costco proxy statements revealed.

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Costco has doled out bonuses on the basis of hitting DEI metrics, their proxy statements reveal.

The wholesale giant has been tight-lipped about their DEI policies, and Fox News Digital was unable to determine which specific metrics the bonuses were tied to. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment. However, Costco’s website sheds some light on the company’s DEI initiatives.

“The role of the company’s Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) is to support the advancement of inclusion at Costco, the growth of a diverse employee base, our relationships in the communities where we do business and an increase in our base of diverse suppliers,” according to the website.

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Al Sharpton staged a “buy in” to support Costco upholding DEI metrics. ((Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Costco has managers and employees take a course in “inclusive conversations,” which the website lists as “10 modules of conversations to encourage leaders and employees to engage in inclusive conversations.” The program was launched in 2020, and as of 2024 new content was added to facilitate connections “across differences, manage assumptions and make people feel heard,” per the website.

The grocery chain also lists the demographics of its “Supervisor in Training” program, which is designed to help with the professional development of employees. According to their website, 57.3% of the 7,000 employees who participated in the training program identified as “People of Color.”

Waves of backlash and support have crashed on the wholesaler ever since the board overwhelmingly voted to reject a proposal challenging their DEI initiatives in January. Rev. Al Sharpton staged a “buy in” at the Costco location in Harlem to reward the company for sticking with DEI, but 19 states’ attorneys general have ordered the grocer to drop the controversial policies in order to conform with a Trump administration executive order.