Microsoft Lays Off Entire DEI Team: ‘No Longer Business Critical’

Microsoft has made a notable change in its corporate structure: the major company is dismantling its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team. A team leader declared the initiatives “no longer needed,” leading to layoffs within the group. The exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed, and the identity of the team leader who sent the email has not been revealed.

“True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020,” said an email sent to thousands of employees, obtained by Business Insider. The email stated that the DEI team was eliminated because of “changing business needs” as of July 1.

“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 explained.

“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.”

BREAKING: Microsoft has reportedly laid off its internal DEI team.

— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) July 16, 2024

The email does commend the DEI teams at Microsoft, by stating “impossible mountains were moved” and calling them “brilliant, ethical, and world class strategists at the company, helping to make the world a better place.” Despite these accolades, the email also leveled serious accusations against the executive leadership, alleging they were subject to “investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity” while at the company.

In a statement to 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’s approach to DEI was been notably impacted by the events following the death of George Floyd. Following Floyd’s death, Microsoft managed its commitment to DEI by announcing several initiatives and goals aimed at addressing racial injustice and promoting diversity within its workforce. The company pledged to double the number of Black and African American managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders in the U.S. by 2025.

This was part of an initiative where Microsoft committed an additional $150 million to strengthen its diversity and inclusion efforts. Microsoft also focused on transparency by releasing detailed diversity reports. These reports provided data on the racial and gender makeup of its workforce.

Last year, however, Microsoft revealed its plan to lay off 10,000 employees, following the trend of significant job cuts in the tech industry as Silicon Valley faced a ‘tech wreck.’ This month, the company implemented another round of layoffs, marking the latest workforce reduction for the tech giant. The recent layoffs affected various teams and locations, but Microsoft has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.

In June, Microsoft eliminated approximately 1,000 positions across the company, including jobs in its Azure cloud division and HoloLens mixed-reality team. In January, Microsoft’s gaming unit saw nearly 2,000 job cuts according to GeekWire.

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