Following on the heels of other companies, such as Amazon and Meta, Google has decided to review its diversity, equity and inclusion targets.
Tech giant Google is the latest corporation to announce it will be putting an end to DEI hiring and will be reviewing its remaining diversity policies. Following Trump’s executive orders placing federal DEI employees on leave and pulling government funding for programmes, many companies, for example Amazon, Meta and McDonald’s have begun to dissolve their DEI initiatives and layoff staff.
Google made the decision after carrying out an annual review of its policies, stating, “we’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programmes designed to help us get there.
“We’ve updated our 10-k language to reflect this and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic.”
The platform had previously been vocal about the importance of weaving DEI measures into corporate policy, particularly after the death of George Floyd in 2020. Notably, Google set a five-year goal to increase the number of underrepresented people within its leadership ranks by 30pc.
Apple meanwhile has taken steps to ensure its DEI policies remain for now, with its board having recently asked its investors to push back against a vote calling for the dismissal of its DEI policies.
The proposal came from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank who have urged multiple other organisations such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase to review and potentially eliminate their diversity policies.
The group claims that DEI policies are exposing organisations to potential litigation, reputational and financial risks. Earlier this week retailer Target was sued by the City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund in Florida, who claimed that the company had failed to disclose the risk of consumer boycotts as a result of ESG and DEI initiatives.
Google is also at the centre of an antitrust investigation, launched by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, largely as a response to Trump’s 10pc tariff on Chinese imports. China has accused Google of unspecified monopolistic practices.
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