Ex-McDonald's Chef Gives Insight on Controversial Corporate Policy Change

McDonald's recent announcement that it's revising its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program has sparked controversy among some fans online. One former chef for the company took to TikTok to give some background on what might have happened. 

Mike Haracz, who worked for the Golden Arches as a corporate chef, acknowledged that many are assuming the move was done "because of the political landscape in the United States."

"What is interesting [is] not only have they not achieved their goals for 2025 [and] they're rolling things back, [but] they influence their supplier base a lot [and] are no longer serving those suppliers to ensure that they are minority or diversity [prioritizing] or nice companies to do business with," he explained. "So now, this is going to be very interesting because lots of companies follow McDonald's and what they do. Now all the suppliers of McDonald's are going to do that." He noted that this decision carries tremendous weight as the suppliers are often as big or bigger than McDonald's itself. 

@chefmikeharacz

Former #McDonalds corporate chef talks about rolling back their diversity programs. #mcdonaldsccsing #mcdonaldssecrets #mcdonaldschallenge #mcdonaldsdrivethru #mcdonaldsworker #mcdonaldshacks #fastfood #fastfoodlife #fastfoodworkers #fastfoodstories #foodtiktok #FYP #diversity #diversityandinclusion

♬ original sound - Chef Mike Haracz

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski stated in a Jan. 6 letter to franchise owners that "We are immensely proud of our accomplishments, but we are not satisfied. Our commitment to inclusion requires ongoing focus." The company is now focusing on "inclusion" as its main DEI goal. 

"We are retiring setting aspirational representation goals and instead keeping our focus on continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our business into our everyday process and operations," the company wrote. "We are evolving how we refer to our diversity team, which will now be the Global Inclusion Team. This name change is more fitting for McDonald’s in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team’s work."

Related: McDonald's Breakfast Sausage Dupes Sold at Walmart, Chef Says

They also, as Haracz noted, are "retiring Supply Chain’s Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge in favor of a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance."

Meanwhile, the fast food chain continues to work regain sales after a steady decline over the past year worsened by a deadly E. coli outbreak in late 2024.