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Google removed its commitment to abstain from using AI for weapons and surveillance from its updated AI Principles. The prior version stated the company would not pursue 'weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people' and 'technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms.' Amnesty International called it 'a shame that Google has chosen to set this dangerous precedent.'

HP Inc announced it would lay off up to 2,000 more employees as part of a continuing cost-cutting plan, bringing the total number of job cuts under the restructuring to as many as 9,000. The company said it would save an additional $300 million by the end of its fiscal 2025. CEO Enrique Lores said the layoffs will hit 'all over the company,' including factory workers, consumer support reps, HR administration, and legacy tech engineers.

NY Attorney General Letitia James announced a $16.75 million settlement with DoorDash for misleading consumers and delivery workers by using tips intended for Dashers to subsidize their guaranteed pay. Between May 2017 and September 2019, DoorDash used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers. Approximately 63,000 New York delivery workers benefited from this settlement.

In February 2025, Google eliminated its 2018 pledge not to develop AI for harmful purposes including weaponry and surveillance. The original pledge came after employee protests over Project Maven, a US Defense Department initiative using AI to analyze drone footage. The company now pursues military contracts including a $200M DoD CDAO contract.

In February 2025, Beyond Meat laid off 64 employees (9% of global workforce) and halted all operations in China. In August 2025, the company cut an additional 44 employees (6% of global workforce) in North America. These layoffs came amid continued declining revenues, with Q2 2025 US retail revenues falling 27% and total sales dropping 19.6% year-over-year. CEO Ethan Brown acknowledged it was 'not the moment for plant-based meat right now.'

Workday announced it would cut 8.5% of its workforce in favor of investing in artificial intelligence to counter a 'softer macroeconomic environment.'

Booking Holdings announced layoffs of 'more than 200 and fewer than 1,000' employees at Booking.com, primarily affecting its Amsterdam workforce of 7,000. This came despite reporting a 37% increase in net profit to $5.9 billion in 2024. The company claimed layoffs were 'not a cost-cutting measure' but 'an effort to operate more efficiently.' Previous layoffs: 2,700 in 2022, 4,000 in 2020.

At a book talk at Colonial Theater in February 2025, Bill Gates stated 'I will say that some of these diversity things probably have gone too far, too far.' He added that he would try to 'help the reinvention' of DEI but felt issues of poverty had been overlooked.

At Paris AI Summit, Amodei stated governments need to enforce transparency of safety plans and facilitate measurement of cyber attacks, CBRN, autonomy, and other global security risks by third-party evaluators. Warned of AI systems becoming 'country of geniuses in a datacenter' by 2026-2027.

Shopify dismantled its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in early 2025, following a broader trend among tech companies retreating from DEI commitments.

Reddit filed a lawsuit in California state court against Anthropic, alleging the AI company made over 100,000 unauthorized requests to Reddit's servers to collect user posts and comments without permission. The suit alleged Anthropic circumvented Reddit's robots.txt file and refused to engage in licensing negotiations, unlike Google and OpenAI which entered formal licensing agreements. The case raised questions about intellectual property rights and data protection for user-generated content.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Wise to pay approximately $2.5 million for alleged illegal remittance practices, including advertising inaccurate fees and failing to properly disclose exchange rates. The consent order requires approximately $450,000 for consumer redress and a $44,955 civil penalty.

NVIDIA's due diligence in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 revealed supplier non-compliance including hiring fees charged to workers, document and passport retention, excessive working hours, and penalties for leaving employers early. An independent human rights assessment found forced labor and child labor to be salient risks in NVIDIA's supply chain, though not in direct operations.

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, who still sits on the company's board, joined Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Gebbia revealed he voted for Trump and attended RFK Jr's confirmation hearing. Airbnb distanced itself from Gebbia's views, stating he joined 'in his personal capacity.' The move caused internal concern at Airbnb and led to host backlash, with many threatening to leave the platform.

At Davos in January 2025, CEO Chuck Robbins said Cisco wouldn't be getting rid of its DEI policies because there's 'too much business value.' Despite shareholder challenges from conservative groups demanding ROI analysis, Cisco maintained its commitment to diversity and inclusion. The company has a 78% Workplace Pride rating and was ranked #1 on PEOPLE's 2024 'Companies That Care' list.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, 2025 - just two days after Trump's inauguration and executive orders against DEI - Chuck Robbins publicly defended Cisco's DEI programs, stating 'You cannot argue with the fact that a diverse workforce is better. There's too much business value.' He acknowledged some programs 'got a little out of hand' but defended the core principles.

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia joined Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January 2025. He revealed he voted for Trump and attended RFK Jr's confirmation hearing. The move caused host backlash, with many threatening to leave the Airbnb platform. Airbnb distanced itself from Gebbia, stating he joined 'in his personal capacity.'

On January 21, 2025, Masayoshi Son appeared at the White House Roosevelt Room alongside Larry Ellison and Sam Altman to announce Stargate, a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle. Son promised Trump that Stargate would invest $500 billion to build a nationwide network of AI data centers and power plants. Son was named Chairman of the Stargate Project.

On Trump's first full day in office (January 21, 2025), Oracle founder Larry Ellison appeared at the White House alongside OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son to unveil Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure project. Ellison had notably skipped the inauguration the day before but was given prominent access the following day.

In January 2025, a Delaware judge sanctioned Sandberg for allegedly deleting emails from a personal account despite being instructed to preserve them during 2018 shareholder lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Meta later settled the investor lawsuit for over $5 billion in FTC fines.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration, seated prominently near the cabinet. This came as TikTok faced a potential US ban under a law requiring ByteDance to divest. Trump signed an executive order pausing enforcement for 75 days.

Pinterest's CLO Wanji Walcott penned a reflection on MLK Day 2025 stating: 'It's never been more important to create spaces where everyone feels welcome... That view is a core part of what makes Pinterest strong as a company and as a platform—and we will not waver in that belief.' While the company listed DEI attacks as a possible business risk in its 2024 10-K filing, it continues its diversity programs.

On January 20, 2025, Marc Benioff posted on X congratulating Trump on becoming the 47th President. This marked a significant shift from his history as a major Democratic donor who had given over $1.3 million to Democratic campaigns since 2011. Benioff did not attend the inauguration or donate to the inaugural fund, citing Time magazine ownership.

On January 20, 2025, Chuck Robbins posted congratulations to Trump on X, stating Cisco 'looks forward to working with your administration to securely connect America, build world class innovations, & advance a pro-growth tax system.' As Business Roundtable chair, Robbins advised business peers that dealing with Trump requires 'Engagement, pure and simple.'

Elon Musk attended Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, seated on the platform with other notable guests including Cabinet nominees. He also spoke at Trump's inaugural rally at Capital One Arena.

Jensen Huang did not attend Trump's January 20, 2025 inauguration, unlike most major tech CEOs. He was instead in Beijing for Nvidia's annual meeting, telling reporters 'We have many partners in China, we have been working here for about 25 years... we will continue to cooperate.' Nvidia still donated $1M to the inauguration fund.

Ericsson donated $500,000 (5.5 million SEK) to Trump's Presidential Inauguration Committee, the company's first-ever inauguration donation. CEO Börje Ekholm stated: 'We have a very large market share in the USA and we must be able to work with whoever sits in the White House.' A spokesperson said it 'underscores our commitment to the U.S.'

Jeff Bezos attended Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, seated prominently with other tech billionaires behind Trump as he was sworn in. Bezos had previously called Trump in July 2024 to recommend VP candidates and dined at Mar-a-Lago. After the election, Bezos posted congratulations praising Trump's 'extraordinary political comeback.'

Lyft notably did not donate to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund, while competitor Uber donated $2 million. Lyft also maintained its pledge not to fund members of Congress who supported election denial claims after January 6, 2021.

Palantir's Investigative Case Management (ICM) system, also known as ImmigrationOS, is used by ICE for immigration enforcement operations. The contract has been expanded under the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda. Civil rights groups have criticized Palantir for enabling family separations and deportations.