- More than 100 Estée Lauder employees have requested the removal of board member and family heir, Ronald Lauder, over his support for President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported Friday.
- In a letter to the company's chairman, employees said that Lauder's involvement with the company was "damaging" to its corporate values and its relationship with the Black community.
- Employees reportedly left a town hall meeting on June 4 feeling "disgusted and dissatisfied" with the chairman's seemingly scripted speech and his lack of address on Ronald Lauder's political contributions.
Employees of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder have voiced concerns over a company board member and family heir's support to President Trump, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.
In a letter sent to chairman William Lauder, which was reviewed by Bloomberg, more than a 100 employees and staff called to oust the son of the eponymous brand's founders, Ronald Lauder, over his political contributions to Trump and his impact on race relations in the company.
They were also reportedly disappointed over the company's lack of response towards ongoing protests against police violence.
The letter said: "Ronald Lauder's involvement with the Estée Lauder Companies is damaging to our corporate values, our relationship with the Black community, our relationship with this company's Black employees, and this company's legacy."
A spokeswoman for Estée Lauder told Business Insider: "This week, several employees asked whether a single member of the Lauder family and our Board, represents the views of our company. The answer is no.
"While we respect everyone's right to make their own political decisions, no single individual represents the views of our company."
Ronald Lauder, the son of founders Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, is now 76. He has been a long-time Republican and is also the US ambassador to Austria.
Since 2007, he has held the post of president of the World Jewish Congress, an international organization representative of Jewish communities.
In an internal memo seen by Business Insider, chairman William Lauder told employees on June 1: "Speaking up and speaking out against racial injustice, bigotry and hatred is the first step. Supporting organizations working toward systemic change and justice is another. We will do both, and we will do more."
While many companies have issued public statements supportive of Black Americans, some have actually stepped up with specific actions and donations.
Estée Lauder tweeted a short statement of solidarity on June 1, a day before the Blackout Tuesday movement erupted.
—Estée Lauder (@EsteeLauder) June 1, 2020
Employee dissatisfaction over company donations
Estée Lauder told its employees it would donate $1 million to support black communities. In a letter, employees requested to raise the figure to $5 million, Bloomberg said.
After a town hall meeting on June 4, many employees were left "disgusted and dissatisfied," the report said, citing two employees who attended, and some wrote letters to
Estée Lauder was placed on an anti-Trump boycott list late last year as records showed Ronald Lauder donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-Trump groups since 2017.
A string of other retailers including LVMH and LL.Bean were also added to the list. The list comprises of companies that engage in doing business with Trump, selling products that are Trump-branded, or supporting the Trump campaign in any manner.