Tech giant cites position as federal contractor in recent change, according to reports
Google is ending its diversity hiring targets, according to various reports, in the wake of President Donald Trump's recent orders to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The Verge reported a new memo from Fiona Cicconi, Google's head of HR, regarding the company's direction on its DEI programmes.
"In 2020, we set aspirational hiring goals and focused on growing our offices outside California and New York to improve representation," Cicconi said.
"We'll continue to invest in states across the U.S. — and in many countries globally — but in the future, we will no longer have aspirational goals."
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Google omitted a line in its latest annual SEC report that stressed its commitment to "making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do."
According to the WSJ report, the line was in Google's annual reports from 2021 to 2023.
The announcement comes following Trump's recent executive orders to end DEI efforts in the Federal government, including putting on leave DEI employees.
Cicconi's announcement on the company's DEI direction references these orders.
"Every year, we review the programmes designed to help us get there and make changes," she said. "And because we are a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes to our programmes required to comply with recent court decisions and U.S. Executive Orders on this topic."
Despite the changes, Cicconi said their central Employee Resource Groups will remain, as well as their work with colleges and universities.
"I want to be clear: we've always been committed to creating a workplace where we hire the best people wherever we operate, create an environment where everyone can thrive, and treat everyone fairly. That's exactly what you can expect to see going forward," she said.
"Our users come from all across the U.S. and around the world, and we serve them better when our employees do, too."
A statement from Google also maintained the tech giant's commitment to equal opportunities.
"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," the statement read as quoted by The Guardian.
Google now joins the growing list of organisations that are altering their DEI programmes amid an ongoing anti-DEI environment in Corporate America.
Other organisations that also made changes to their DEI initiatives include Walmart, Meta, Amazon, McDonald’s, Toyota, among others.
