Meta, Amazon, and now Google... Reevaluating DEI Hiring for Minority Groups

"No More Hiring Goals for Improving Employee Representation"

Google has abolished its affirmative action policy for minority hiring and begun reviewing its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 5th (local time). After U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish DEI policies shortly after taking office, major U.S. companies have been aligning their policies accordingly.

WSJ reported that Google sent an email to employees stating that it will no longer set hiring goals aimed at improving employee representation.

Since the death of Black man George Floyd in 2020 due to aggressive police enforcement, calls for racial diversity have increased in the United States. In response, Google set a goal to raise the proportion of executives from underrepresented groups to 30% by 2025. This means expanding the promotion of Black and Latinx individuals to senior positions.

Black and Latinx people have long been minorities in the tech industry. According to Google's 2024 Diversity Report, 5.7% of U.S. employees are Black and 7.5% are Latinx. Four years ago, these figures were only 3.7% and 5.9%, respectively.

Google's parent company Alphabet's annual report released on the same day also shows a retreat from DEI. The sentence included in the 2021?2024 annual reports stating, "We are committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and building a workforce that represents the users we serve," has been removed.

Google also stated that as part of reviewing DEI-related grants, training, and initiatives, it is considering whether to continue publishing the annual diversity report issued since 2014. Additionally, it is reviewing executive orders issued by the federal government and federal agencies aimed at curbing DEI policies. Google said, "We are evaluating the necessary program changes to comply with these."

Google said, "We will continue to invest in states across the U.S. and in many countries worldwide," but added, "However, we will no longer have ambitious goals going forward."

Earlier, Meta Platforms and Amazon also abolished their diversity policies. Meta sent an internal memo last month to employees announcing the termination of DEI policies applied to hiring, training, and vendor selection, and disbanded its DEI team. Amazon stated in an internal memo that it has been scaling back outdated programs related to diversity since December last year.

It is not only big tech companies. Since President Trump's election, companies like McDonald's and Walmart have also abolished DEI policies, showing a pro-Trump stance.