Microsoft has allegedly shuttered one of its major Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) teams, laying off a number of employees in the process. The former team leader sent an internal email to a number of Microsoft’s staff which revealed the firings, criticized Microsoft’s decision, and accused the tech company’s leadership of “harassment and toxicity.”
Business Insider first broke the email. It states that the former leader’s “role and team were eliminated due to ‘changing business needs’ as of July 1st, 2024.” Microsoft is following the lead of other tech companies, like Meta and Google, which have also cut down DEI programs founded in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. In particular, Microsoft pledged to double the number of Black and African-American leaders inside the US by 2025, alongside other programs for “addressing racial injustice” such as workplace trainings and approving more Black-owned suppliers and financial institutions.
According to the email, DEI programs across all businesses are in danger of these kinds of cuts or shutting down completely. It claims that the possibility of conservative political policies like Project 2025 has shaped Microsoft’s decision-making. The email explains, “Hence the purposeful and strategic 3-5 year shelf life of many company’s inclusion commitments post the murder of George Floyd are being reevaluated and the way I see it, the timing was impeccable so businesses everywhere could reevaluate the path forward should their U.S. federal contracts be at risk if the work continues on its face.”
The email has lot of praise for the team itself. It states that it was staffed with “brilliant, ethical, and world class strategists at the company, helping to make the world a better place.” The email also accused Microsoft’s executive leadership of “investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity.”
GameSpot has reached out to Microsoft for comment, but has not yet received a response.
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