Microsoft has reportedly disbanded a team focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) because of “changing business needs.”
In the internal email announcing the shuttering to several Microsoft staff, the team lead also accused the company’s leadership of “investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity.”
Initially reported by Business Insider on July 16, the email came from the lead of a key DEI team at Microsoft announcing that their “role and team were eliminated due to ‘changing business needs’ as of July 1st, 2024.” However, we have yet to know how many employees were affected by the layoff. The decision is notable given Microsoft’s earlier public commitments to enhance diversity efforts, including a 2020 pledge to double the number of Black and African-American leaders in the company by 2025.
The email praised the work done by the DEI team in the past few years, applauding the “brilliant, ethical, and world-class strategists at the company, helping to make the world a better place.” However, the team lead’s strong criticism of the layoff is apparent: “True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere is no longer business critical or smart as it was in 2020.”
The drive to focus on diversity and inclusion kickstarted majorly in Microsoft and other tech companies in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the historical protests that followed.
In response to the Business Insider report, Microsoft 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.”
In 2023, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees from various parts of the company’s workforce including its gaming divisions. Various studios under the Activision Blizzard umbrella also faced layoffs.
