Microsoft staffer blasts decision to lay off internal team focused on diversity due to "changing business needs"

A Microsoft team leader has emailed thousands of staff to protest the closure of a major internal group focused on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the company.

The outgoing staff member blasted Microsoft's decision to cut their team amid a wider cooling in the corporate space to the need for diversity groups generally.

A quote from the email first published by Business Insider claims that the team had been told it was "eliminated due to 'changing business needs'".

In response, a Microsoft spokesperson told the publication in statement, also shared with Eurogamer, that its "D&I commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are holding firm on our expectations, prioritising accountability, and continuing to focus on this work."

Microsoft has continually cut jobs over the past few years, and made more staff redundant on 1st July, per social media updates from those affected. Eurogamer contacted Microsoft for more detail on the numbers laid off at the time, but did not receive a response.

"True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020," the laid-off team leader wrote in their email, highlighting a growing trend of cutting DEI-focused teams across the tech space. Google, Zoom and Facebook owner Meta have also laid off diversity-focused staff over the past year.

In another section of their email, obtained by IGN, the team leader discussed some of the wider context behind the deprioritisation of DEI programs. In a nutshell, they say that the push for greater inclusion efforts that brought investment is fading, while political winds are also on the change.

"Unofficially in my opinion, not specific to Microsoft alone, but [right-wing Republican policy plan should Trump be re-elected] Project 2025 looms and true systems change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020. Hence the purposeful and strategic three-to-five year shelf life of many company's inclusion commitments post the murder of George Floyd are being re-evaluated.

"And the way I see it, the timing was impeccable so businesses everywhere could re-evaluate the path forward should their US federal contracts be at risk if the work continues on its face."

Microsoft laid off 1900 people across Xbox and Activision Blizzard in January this year, following earlier layoffs in 2023. Across the video games industry as a whole, more than 20,000 people are thought to have been let go over the past two years, with more let go in 2024 so far than the whole of last year.