American Express engages in 'reverse discrimination' against White people, current and former employees say

American Express engages in 'reverse discrimination' against White people, current and former employees say

At least one former employee left the company because it seemed American Express was only promoting Black people

Five current and former employees at American Express – speaking on condition of anonymity – told FOX Business that the credit card company singles out Black people for promotion in a practice that former employees described as reverse discrimination against White people.

The employees, none of whom were in human resources, did not present internal documents to demonstrate an official policy, but they said they witnessed a worrisome trend that raises questions about racial discrimination in promotion.

One former employee said they quit because the critical race theory training and the apparent promotion of employees due to skin color sent the message that White employees could not expect to even be considered for promotion. American Express denied this accusation in a statement.

The ex-employee said efforts to advance in the company were futile.

"I wanted to move up really bad. I did everything I was supposed to do in terms of training and extra work. I was on committees, going out of my way to be helpful, being a leader on team calls and national calls," the employee told FOX Business. "I saw the writing on the wall: There’s no way I can get promoted because of the color of my skin."

The workplace culture at American Express changed drastically in the wake of the death of George Floyd, the former employee said. First came politically charged CEO statements about various news events, then employee training sessions focused on "microaggressions" and "unconscious bias," and then the employee recalled seeing racial minorities promoted far more than White people.

"Before this happened, they would tell you how you would move up. ‘These are the steps you would take,’ et cetera. No longer did that matter because all that matters now is the color of the candidate’s skin," the former employee said. "I would see these emails showing who got promoted. I'd say nine times out of 10, it was a Black person in that role."

"You're told, ‘If you work hard enough and you do the right things, you can move up in this company.’ That's no longer the case at American Express. They're only promoting Black people," the ex-employee said.

"This is reverse discrimination against White people."

American Express categorically denied the accusation.

"American Express has a longstanding commitment to living our company values, which include fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where all colleagues feel welcome and heard and have equal opportunities to thrive regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, and nationality," an American Express spokesperson told FOX Business. "Our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are singularly about upholding this commitment and are not based on any specific theory, nor are they targeted to a specific group of employees.

"We have a high-achieving culture, and we are proud of our dedicated and highly engaged colleagues," the spokesperson added. "Advancement within our company is based solely on individual business and leadership performance. Any characterization of our company and culture to the contrary is just plain wrong."

Yet other current and former employees backed up the whistleblower.

"I do think that minorities are treated preferentially at American Express," a former employee of mixed-race heritage told FOX Business. This ex-employee said that the company "would not allow a director to make any hiring decisions unless there were enough Black people in the candidate pool."

The mixed-race former employee also described a situation in which his supervisor said "it would be...