AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Google is on an extension list of US companies that have abolished or reduced diversity, equity and comprehensive programs, removing some of their diversity recruitment goals.
The move, outlined in an email sent to Google employees on Wednesday, aims to pressure government contractors to scrap the DEI initiative in the wake of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. It was something like that.
Like several other major tech companies, Google sells some of its technology and services to the federal government, including its rapidly growing cloud sector, a key component of its push to artificial technology. I am doing it.
Google’s parent company Alphabet also shows the shift in its annual 10-K report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. Among them, Google removed the lines contained in its previous annual report. “We are committed to creating a part of the diversity, equity and inclusion of everything we do, and we are committed to expanding the workforce that represents the users we serve.” .
Google generates a majority of Alphabet’s annual revenues for $350 billion, making up almost all of its 183,000 global workforce.
“We are committed to creating a workplace where all employees can be successful and have equal opportunities, and last year we have a program designed to help them get there. We’ve been reviewing it,” Google said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We have updated the 10-K language to reflect this. As a federal contractor, our team also evaluates the necessary changes following the recent decision on this topic and the administrative order. I’m doing it.”
The language changes also include other notable techniques such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Nology Executive Stands Behind Trump It’s been slightly increasing after more than two weeks. .
Meta abandoned the DEI program last month just before taking office, but Amazon suspended some of its DEI programs in December after Trump’s election.
Many companies outside the technology industry are also separated from DEI. These include Walt Disney, McDonald’s, Ford, Walmart, Target, Lowes and John Deere.
Trump’s recent executive order threatens to impose financial sanctions on federal contractors deemed to have “illegal” DEI programs. If a company is found to be in violation, it could be subject to significant damages under the False Claims Act of 1863. The law says contractors who make false claims to the government could be liable for three times more liable for the government’s damages.
The order also includes up to nine surveys of public companies, large nonprofits and other agencies with DEI policies that constitute “illegal discrimination or preferences.” I was instructed to select a goal.
The challenge for businesses is to know which DEI policies are “illegal.” Trump’s executive order “ceased all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandate, policies, programs, and other federal activities, and to “unlawful private sector preferences, mandate, policies, programs, and more.” , and to force the fight. Activities. ”
In both the public and private sectors, diversity initiatives cover a range of practices, ranging from conducting anti-discrimination training and payroll stock surveys to efforts to recruit minority groups and female members as employees.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has tried to hire more people from underrated groups for over a decade, but George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis is for more social justice They strengthened those efforts in 2020 after triggering protests.
Shortly after Floyd’s death, Pichai set the goal of increasing the representation of underrated groups in Mountain View, California by 2025. It hasn’t changed dramatically.
According to Google’s annual Diversity report, black representatives in the company’s leadership ranks rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 5.1% last year. For Hispanics, the change was between 3.7% and 4.3%. Meanwhile, the proportion of women in leadership roles has increased from 26.7% in 2020 to 32.8% in 2024, according to the company’s report.
That number doesn’t change much in Google’s overall workforce. Only 5.7% of black employees and 7.5% of Latinx employees. According to the Diversity Report, two-thirds of Google’s global workforce are made up of men.
Associated Press business reporter Alexandra Olson contributed to this report.
Original issue: February 5th, 2025, 7:56pm EST
