Microsoft Faces Backlash After DEI Team Layoffs
July 16, 2024
Microsoft’s recent decision to lay off its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team due to “changing business needs” has stirred controversy within the company, Business Insider reports.
Internal Email Criticizes Microsoft’s Commitment
A prominent leader from the DEI team, whose identity has been confirmed by Business Insider, sent an email to thousands of Microsoft employees.
The email criticized the company for deeming DEI work “no longer business critical or smart” as it was perceived in 2020.
This message resonated strongly across the organization, reflecting a sense of betrayal among employees dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace.
The email also highlighted that the layoffs, effective from July 1, affected an unspecified number of employees.
This decision comes amid a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies like Zoom, Google, and Meta have also scaled back their DEI efforts.
A Retreat From DEI Efforts?
In 2020, Microsoft pledged to double the number of Black and African American leaders within the company by 2025.
However, the progress towards this goal remains unclear, casting doubt on the commitments.
Despite assurances from Microsoft spokesperson Jeff Jones that the company’s DEI commitments remain unchanged and that the focus on diversity and inclusion is “unwavering,” the recent layoffs paint a different picture.
Jones reiterated that Microsoft continues to prioritize accountability and focus on DEI work.
However, the layoffs of DEI-focused teams suggest a retreat from the aggressive diversity efforts promised in the past few years.
https://peopleofcolorintech.com/articles/microsoft-faces-backlash-after-dei-team-layoffs/
==Microsoft DEI Lead Blasts Company in Internal Email After Team Is Reportedly Laid Off
"True systems change work…[is] no longer business critical."
By Rebekah UPDATED: JUL 16, 2024 4:47 PM POSTED: JUL 16, 2024 2:54 PM
Microsoft is reportedly shuttering a major diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team, according to an internal email sent by the team's leader to a significant number of Microsoft staff last week, in which the lead also accuses the company's executive leadership of "investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity."
The email, first reported by Business Insider and corroborated by IGN, was sent by the former lead of one of Microsoft's key DEI teams. In it, they state that their "role and team were eliminated due to 'changing business needs' as of July 1st, 2024." IGN has reached out to Microsoft for comment as to the full extent and nature of these layoffs, but has not yet heard back.
The email goes on to assert that DEI programs are in danger not just at Microsoft, but across all businesses:
"Unofficially in my opinion, not specific to Microsoft alone, but [conservative policy plan] Project 2025 looms and true systems change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020. 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," the email reads. "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 goes on to praise the work of DEI teams at Microsoft, saying that "impossible mountains were moved" during their tenure and celebrating the "brilliant, ethical, and world class strategists at the company, helping to make the world a better place." However, they also accused executive leadership of "investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity" directed toward them during their time at the company.
In a statement shared with Business Wire, spokesperson Jeff Jones said: "Our D&I commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are holding firm on our expectations, prioritizing accountability, and continuing to focus on this work."
Microsoft is just one of numerous tech and gaming companies that made major commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the last four years, particularly in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the summer of Black Lives Matter protests that followed. Microsoft in particular unveiled a "racial equality initiative", pledging to increase representation, invest an additional $150 million in diversity and inclusion, and double the number of Black and African American leaders in its US divisions by 2025.
However, in the years since, a number of tech companies such as Google and Meta have begun to make significant cuts to the DEI programs they launched in 2020.
Earlier this year, Microsoft laid off 1900 staff from its video game divisions, and closed both Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Last year, the wider company laid off over 10,000 individuals.
IGN has reached out to both the email sender and Microsoft for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-dei-lead-blasts-company-in-internal-email-after-team-is-reportedly-laid-off