In 2020, after George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer who assisted in his arrest; the incident brought to light several inequities Black people face in America. This introspection resulted in a domino effect that pushed many large companies in the corporate world to adopt diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These policies were aimed at advancing opportunities in the workplace for people of various backgrounds.
Now, companies are starting to flip the switch and pull back on those initiatives after facing backlash from consumers for being too “woke.” Microsoft (MSFT) is the latest company to scale back its DEI efforts, having quietly laid off its DEI team, according to a new report from Business Insider.
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The team, which contained an unknown number of employees, was given the boot on July 1 due to "changing business needs," and internal communications reveal that a team leader at the trillion-dollar company wasn’t too pleased with the decision.
"True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020," wrote a team leader in an email to employees, which was revealed by Insider.
The move from Microsoft comes after the company unveiled its Racial Equity Initiative in 2020 after George Floyd was killed. The company vowed to invest $150 million to strengthen its culture of inclusion, which involved doubling the number of Black and Hispanic leaders in its workplace by 2025.
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Other major companies such as Apple, Meta and Amazon also unveiled similar DEI initiatives that same year, and it quickly became a trend in corporate America. Three months after Floyd’s murder, DEI job postings increased by 123%.
Despite the recent cut to the team, Microsoft claimed in a statement to Insider that its DEI commitments “remain unchanged.”
It is no surprise that Microsoft axed its DEI team as it recently faced backlash over its DEI goals in February. After Microsoft unveiled its 2023 Global Diversity & Inclusion report, a user on social media platform X highlighted a page from the report in a viral tweet which revealed that the company was addressing racial pay disparities by paying its white employees less than their counterparts.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk caught wind of the tweet and questioned whether or not that was even legal for Microsoft to do, which hurled more attention and criticism towards the company.
Is that legal?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2024
Microsoft isn’t the only company to cave under pressure from consumers who scrutinized its DEI goals. Earlier this month, Tractor Supply (TSCO) cut its DEI initiatives and job roles after its conservative consumers bashed the company on social media for having “woke priorities” such as having a DEI council, advocating for climate change, funding pride events, etc.
Consumers even threatened to boycott the company if it didn’t remove these priorities, and in the midst of the backlash, Tractor Supply complied.
“We work hard to live up to our Mission and Values every day and represent the values of the communities and customers we serve,” said Tractor Supply in the statement on X. “We have heard from customers that we disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart.”
DEI is continuing to dissipate in corporate America. Many companies such as Zoom, Tesla, Home Depot, etc. have also slashed their DEI teams via layoffs. So far, DEI jobs have decreased by 5% in 2023 and have already fallen 8% so far in 2024, according to data from Revelio Labs, which was unveiled by The Washington Post.
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