Big Tech companies are cutting back on the number of staffers dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion, a significant change from the company’s commitments nearly three years ago after George Floyd’s death.
Technology companies have been struggling, forced to lay off hundreds of thousands of workers in 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi. Over 260,000 workers in the technology sector were removed from their jobs at more than 1,160 companies, a significant increase when compared to the previous year. Job losses in DEI were particularly notable.
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While Big Tech companies such as Google and Meta have put up a show about how much they were investing in efforts to increase diversity internally, their business practices appear to imply otherwise.
“These tech platforms are starving for well-trained engineers due to prioritizing DEI principles over core competencies,” Dan Schneider, vice president of Free Speech America at the Media Research Center, told the Washington Examiner.
Google and Meta made commitments in 2020 to improve their approach to diversity in response to George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement. Google’s promises included increasing the number of minorities in leadership by 2025, doubling the number of black workers by 2025, addressing representation shortcomings in hiring, and providing additional support for the health of black employees.
Facebook’s parent company claimed success in increasing the number of minority and female employees in 2022.
However, the DEI departments have not held up as the companies tried to cut costs. Tech companies began cutting DEI jobs early in 2023 as part of larger job cuts, according to Bloomberg. DEI jobs declined nationwide, including special projects designed to encourage the hiring of minorities.
Google, for example, launched its Early Career Immersion program in 2021 to help underrepresented technology-trained staff develop skills. The company decided not to hire a cohort of ECI software engineers in 2023 due to uncertain hiring outlooks, according to documentation reviewed by CNBC.
Other companies made cuts to personnel who were in charge of hiring minorities, according to CNBC. For example, nearly every member of Meta’s Sourcer Development Program was let go as part of layoffs in the spring. Both companies also fired several DEI managers.
Amazon, Meta, and Google all affirmed to the Washington Examiner that DEI is still central to their company.
“Our commitment to DEI remains at the center of who we are as a company,” a Meta spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “We continue to intentionally design equitable and fair practices to drive progress across our people, product, policy, and partnerships pillars.”
“Our workforce reductions and company-wide efforts to sharpen our focus span the breadth of our business,” a Google spokesperson told the Washington Examiner before affirming that the company’s comment to diversity has not changed.
Amazon’s DEI priorities have not changed either, spokeswoman Margaret Callahan told the Washington Examiner.
X did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
The DEI cuts appeared to be part of a larger cost-cutting effort by many Big Tech companies, all of which grew larger than expected during COVID-19 but found that their revenue did not match their size in the years after, forcing them to adapt.
Google announced in January that it was cutting over 12,000 jobs in 2023, including in the news division, HR, and several other sections.
Meta also cut tens of thousands of workers in the spring of 2023, nearly 25% of its total workforce.
X, formerly known as Twitter, brought its DEI staff from 30 down to two in 2023.
Amazon laid off 18,000 people in early 2023, including many in the human resources department. where many DEI staffers are often located.
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The cuts in diverse staff were noticed by lawmakers. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su last week asking her to do something about the disproportionate firing of black workers.
“Tech companies who previously agreed to address bias and discrimination and create greater opportunities in the workforce are now quietly defunding diversity pledges,” they wrote in the letter.
