(DailyVantage.com) – Microsoft has reportedly let go of a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) dedicated team, citing “changing business needs.”
An email sent by one of the tech firm’s team leaders to thousands of employees reportedly revealed the removal of the team, with the supposed whistleblower criticizing the company for ostensibly taking a step backward from “true systems-change work”.
Many companies, Microsoft included, pledged to do more towards fostering diversity – particularly towards black people – in their respective workforces, spurred by the massive outcry surrounding the death of George Floyd in 2020 at the hands of several police officers.
The team was supposedly let go at the beginning of July, but it is unclear how many employees were affected, nor is the status of Microsoft’s DEI initiatives as a whole.
Microsoft is not the first to shed off teams and personnel dedicated towards DEI initiatives, however. Popular video-conferencing software company Zoom Video Communications recently let go of a DEI team. Other tech companies, such as Meta and Google, also quietly scaled back on its DEI initiatives last year, shedding DEI-dedicated manpower in the process. More recently, Moline, Illinois-based farm equipment firm John Deere announced that it would be no longer fund “social or cultural awareness” events, effectively scuttling its DEI program. Another industrial company, Tractor Supply Co., had earlier said that it would be doing the same.
However, Microsoft has reportedly not completely done away with its DEI program – formally called Microsoft Global Talent, Development, Diversity and Inclusion (GTDDI) team. The group is headed by the firm’s chief diversity officer, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre.
In a statement sent to media outlets, Microsoft said that it had only removed two positions in its DEI events team, and stressed that its commitment to the goals of its DEI initiative “remain unchanged.” The company also said that the positions were redundant and separate from its main GTDDI arm, but declined to indicate how many people were currently part of the said team.
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