In internal emails, Microsoft cited “changing business needs” and cost-cutting in response to difficult economic conditions for the layoffs.
Management has recognized efforts to promote diversity, equality and inclusion as ’no longer business critical’.
Similar decisions, although currently limited to job cuts in these departments, have also recently been made by Amazon, Meta, and Twitter. In all cases, the layoffs were officially explained by the need to optimize costs and focus on key business areas, especially in the context of global economic uncertainty.
While companies argue that changing business priorities require such decisions, critics worry it could hamper progress in promoting diversity and inclusion, which has been a major issue since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
