Microsoft—Laid off DEI team and removed mandatory diversity objectives from reviews
Microsoft laid off its internal DEI team in July 2024 citing 'changing business needs.' Subsequently, the company removed the requirement for employees to create yearly DEI-focused objectives (previously called 'DEI Core Priority') and stopped evaluating DEI contributions in annual performance reviews. Microsoft also announced it would not publish its traditional annual diversity and inclusion report for 2025.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEI Programs | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Worker Rights | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.332 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.59)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (1 signal)
Laid off DEI team and removed mandatory diversity objectives from reviews
Microsoft laid off its internal DEI team in July 2024 citing 'changing business needs.' Subsequently, the company removed the requirement for employees to create yearly DEI-focused objectives (previously called 'DEI Core Priority') and stopped evaluating DEI contributions in annual performance reviews. Microsoft also announced it would not publish its traditional annual diversity and inclusion report for 2025.