Merck and GM Join Group Pledging 1 Million Black Hires in a Decade
A new coalition will devote $100 million to helping people without four-year college degrees.
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A new group that includes Merck & Co., General Motors Co. and Walmart Inc. is pledging $100 million in an effort to hire 1 million Black workers during the next decade, expanding on existing corporate vows to increase minority employment.
The OneTen initiative, co-chaired by Merck Chief Executive Officer Ken Frazier and International Business Machines Corp. Executive Chairman Ginni Rometty, will focus on hiring and training Black workers without four-year college degrees, according to the plan released Thursday. The goal is to provide “family sustaining” jobs that pay an average of about $50,000 a year.
Other members of the founding board include Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express Co.; Charles Phillips, chairman of the Black Economic Alliance; and Kevin Sharer, former CEO of Amgen Inc. and former faculty member at Harvard Business School.
Companies are under pressure from investors, employees and activists to increase workforce diversity and give more opportunities to minorities after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked widespread protests. Black American have consistently had higher unemployment rates than White people and trailed in promotions and pay.
The group aims to get more companies on board, especially in the manufacturing industry, and establish more connections with non-profits, Frazier said in an interview. It also hopes to scale up currently available training programs.