Minnesota’s biggest companies call for ‘de-escalation’ of tensions
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By LAUREN HIRSCH
Chief executives of Target, Best Buy, General Mills and Cargill were among more than 60 large Minnesota companies to issue a public letter Sunday calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” in the state.
The letter marks the first time the most recognizable businesses in Minnesota have weighed in on the turmoil in Minneapolis amid the aggressive crackdown by federal immigration agents, which have sparked widespread protests throughout the city.
It comes one day after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, a nurse at the city’s Veterans Affairs hospital, while he was being restrained on a Minneapolis sidewalk.
“With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions,” the letter states.
The letter was signed by top executives of Minnesota’s largest companies and large hospital systems, including Land O’ Lakes, Hormel, U.S. Bancorp, Mayo Clinic and 3M. It also was signed by local sports teams: the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Minnesota Wild.
The letter is notable because many CEOs have sought to avoid weighing in on any politically charged issues during the second Trump administration. On Friday, hundreds of smaller businesses in the Minneapolis area shut their doors as they backed protests against the actions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city.
The letter was shared by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 6,000 businesses across the state.
Hours later, Josh Bolten, CEO of the Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies, said in an emailed statement that he supported the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s letter. Beth Ford, the CEO of Land O’ Lakes, sits on the Business Roundtable’s board.
Until Sunday, the largest companies in Minnesota had not addressed the issue, but in the letter they said they had been in contact with federal, state and local officials.
The silence by big companies had been a marked contrast from their responses to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. That murder helped set off a broader corporate movement to fight racism, with executives making public pledges to support diversity initiatives, donate to social justice causes and express solidarity with demonstrators at the time.
But in the years since, companies have sought to avoid being caught in any political crosshairs, as the country has become more polarized. Many have said they will be more selective about the issues they tackle, sticking only to those that directly affect their business.
At the World Economic Forum last week, once a hotbed for such social issues, there was hardly any public mention by executives of the unrest in Minnesota. The focus was instead on artificial intelligence, deal making and the reshaping of global alliances.
But for some companies, the violence in Minnesota has hit particularly close to home. After immigration agents detained two employees at the Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, this month, clergy members gathered at the retailer’s headquarters, asking the company to keep immigration agents off its properties.
“Every CEO — and I know all these CEOs — they want to have a peaceful environment for their employees,” said Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronic, whose current chief signed the letter. George is also a former board member at Target.
“The larger issue for CEOs,” he added, is that the unrest in Minneapolis “is going to have a very negative effect on their growth, on their innovation and particularly their ability to recruit people from around the country and around the world.”
Speaking as a group, as Minnesota executives did Sunday, could help insulate companies from individual attacks from President Donald Trump, said Jeff Sonnenfeld, a professor of leadership studies at the Yale School of Management.
“You can take down companies individually, but when they work collectively, they have immunity,” Sonnenfeld said.
Executives similarly relied on the law of numbers in expressing concerns about tariffs, which organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out in opposition to last spring. Many companies ultimately struck their own deals with the administration over tariffs.
Sunday’s letter stopped short of calling for specific action nor did the corporations condemn the shooting of Pretti by the federal agents or call for immigration authorities to rein in their aggressive enforcement. The statement also did not call on protesters to change their behavior.
With polls showing voters split along party lines on whether they support Trump’s immigration crackdown, corporations have been careful not to alienate large numbers of their customers by taking a side. They also risk angering Trump, who has publicly rebuked companies and executives he believes have crossed him.
The letter from the Minnesota companies Sunday struck a neutral tone.
“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” the executives wrote.
Alison Taylor, a clinical associate professor of business and society at the New York University Stern School of Business, said she thought the companies had no choice but to say something. “They have been backed into a corner, because obviously the situation going on is starting to have commercial consequences,” she said.
Taylor added: “Is it better than doing nothing? Probably. Is it sufficient? I don’t think anyone’s going to think this is sufficient.”