Estée Lauder staff call for ouster of heir over Trump support
Employees of Estée Lauder Cos., one of the world’s largest beauty businesses, called for the ouster of a board member and family heir over his support for U.S. President Donald Trump and criticism of the company’s response to the protests against police violence.
In a letter to chairman William Lauder that was reviewed by Bloomberg News, more than 100 employees and staff asked for the removal of Ronald Lauder over his political donations and concerns about his impact on race relations within the company.
“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,” the letter said.
Among their grievances are Lauder’s political contributions to Trump.
The son of founders Estée and Joseph Lauder, Ronald Lauder, 76, is a longtime Republican, having served as a diplomat under Ronald Reagan before running for mayor of New York in the 1980s and losing to Rudy Giuliani. Since rejoining Estée Lauder’s board of directors in 2016, he has made more than US$1.6 million in political contributions to pro-trump organizations, according to federal disclosures.
Many of Estée Lauder’s brands, including Clinique, La Mer and its namesake label, have released short statements on racial inequality in the U.S. without mentioning the ongoing protests. Employees said it’s not enough.
A representative for Estée Lauder didn’t immediately have a comment on the employees’ letter and Ronald Lauder couldn’t be reached. Earlier the company said it would donate US$1 million in support of the black community. In the letter, employees ask for Estée Lauder to increase this to US$5 million.
Estée Lauder held a town hall meeting on Thursday that left many workers disgusted and dissatisfied, according to two employees who attended.
A number sent emails to senior management, including William Lauder, who spoke at the event, to express dismay that his talk seemed scripted and didn’t address the political contributions.