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July 17 news,MicrosoftThe recent announcement that it would disband its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team has sparked fierce criticism from the team's head, who strongly opposed Microsoft's decision due to "changing business needs."

According to a leaked internal email, the head of the DEI team expressed dissatisfaction with the company's move, accusing Microsoft of viewing diversity as "non-business critical."

Microsoft was one of many tech companies to make commitments to strengthen DEI following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.GoogleSimilar to companies such as Salesforce, Meta, and Zoom, Microsoft has also gradually reduced or withdrawn these commitments.

The specific impact of this adjustment, especially the specific number of employee layoffs, is still unclear, and Microsoft has not yet responded directly to external inquiries. However, Microsoft reiterated its firm stance on DEI commitment in an official statement, emphasizing that "DEI commitment remains unchanged."

According to leaked emails, the former DEI team leader believes that Microsoft has actually quietly abandoned the DEI initiatives it promoted during the Black Lives Matter movement. These initiatives included investing $150 million in DEI programs and training all non-Black employees on racial allyship and privilege awareness.

Although Microsoft CEOSatya NadellaSatya Nadella previously insisted that the company’s DEI initiatives were not a “flash in the pan” but an ongoing effort. However, internal emails indicate that “since then, real systemic change work related to DEI projects is no longer considered critical to the business.”

In addition, Microsoft pledged to double the number of its senior black leaders by 2025. Although this commitment caused widespread discussion at the time, its specific progress is still unclear and the company did not respond.

After the emails were leaked, Microsoft spokesman Jeff Jones reiterated in a statement that the company's commitment "remains unchanged" and stressed that their work on this issue will be "relentless."

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is unwavering, and we will continue to uphold our expectations, prioritize accountability, and maintain a sustained focus on this work,” he said.

Although the statement did not mention the employees who were reportedly fired,LayoffsThe move coincides with Microsoft's usual human resources adjustments at the end of its fiscal year. Last year, Microsoft announced that it would lay off 10,000 employees, part of the so-called "tech layoff wave" that has spread to many technology companies in Silicon Valley.

During the pandemic, Microsoft, like other tech giants, rapidly increased its workforce as profits soared. However, by early 2023, Microsoft continued to implement rounds of layoffs as the company sought to protect its financial situation.

Such mass layoffs were not limited to Microsoft, as many of its competitors also took similar measures. For example, Amazon announced the layoff of 18,000 employees at the same time, while Meta announced in March that it would cut about 10,000 jobs and stop filling 5,000 vacancies as part of its 13% reduction in its overall workforce.

The most notable layoffs, however, came at Twitter, which was sacked after being acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.MuskAfter Elon Musk bought it for $44 billion, it was renamed X. Musk took radical measures to lay off nearly half of the company's employees, reducing the total number of employees to less than 2,000. (Xiaoxiao)