NEW: Amazon Backs Away From DEI Initiatives, Though Activists Remain Unconvinced

Amazon recently became the latest tech company to claim it will be rolling back portions of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which have become synonymous with hiring quotas and the promotion of left-wing social ideologies in the workplace. Amazon joins several major brands, including Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, John Deere and several others in rolling back DEI initiatives within the last six months.

According to a December memo to employees that was obtained by Bloomberg, a senior human resources director said Amazon will be “winding down outdated programs and materials” as part of a review of about 100 company initiatives. The team expects the review to be completed by the end of the month, though details on the changes were vague. “Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes — and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture,” wrote Candi Castleberry, Amazon’s vice president of “Inclusive eXperiences and Technology.” Castleberry previously worked as Amazon’s vice president of global diversity, equity and inclusion until the department underwent a rebrand in 2023.

While the memo did not list specific policies and programs, Bloomberg reported that a number of DEI programs are expected to be cut. The release of the memo follows a previous report from The Information, which revealed that Amazon had recently scrubbed sections entitled Equity for Black people and LGBTQ+ rights from its “Our Positions” page on its website. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel downplayed the report in a statement to Fox Business, however. “We update this page from time to time to ensure that it reflects updates we’ve made to various programs and positions,” she said.

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck — an anti-woke activist who has released several reports on DEI programs at major companies — said he notified Amazon executives in December that he would be reporting on their “woke policies” unless they committed to making changes. “Today they’re announcing a halt to some DEI policies and they’ve removed language about DEI goals and transgenderism from their site,” Starbuck wrote in an X post along with screenshots of his email to the company.

The activist did note that Amazon failed to list any actual changes that would be implemented. “If they do not specifically state what these changes are, I’ll proceed with our report later this month exposing their woke policies, practices and failures because the public deserves to know if these policies still reflect Amazon’s views,” he added. “If they don’t, then Amazon should say so.”

BIG News: On Dec. 4th I notified Amazon that they’d be an upcoming focus for us in 2025 as part of our project to expose woke companies.

Today they’re announcing a halt to some DEI policies and they’ve removed language about DEI goals and transgenderism from their site.

Amazon… pic.twitter.com/tINUQlvElE

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 10, 2025

“We won’t stop until corporate America is sane again and adopts corporate neutrality on divisive issues,” Starbuck told Fox Business. “It’s yet to be seen how far Amazon is going to go to adopt merit, but it’s our hope that they go far enough for us to refocus our reporting efforts elsewhere.”