Windows Release

Microsoft abandones DEI:

According to IGN, it recently laid off a "key" DEI team, stating that their "role and team were eliminated due to 'changing businesses needs' as of July 1. This sent one of its former employees ranting about how Microsoft no longer sees DEI as important to its business in an email, and as you'll see, the panic isn't just that DEI is dying at Microsoft, but that it's dying everywhere:

"Unofficially in my opinion, not specific to Microsoft alone, but [conservative policy plan] 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 3-5 year shelf life of many company's inclusion commitments post the murder of George Floyd are being reevaluated," the email reads. "And the way I see it, the timing was impeccable so businesses everywhere could reevaluate the path forward should their U.S. federal contracts be at risk if the work continues on its face." The email goes on to praise the work of DEI teams at Microsoft, saying that "impossible mountains were moved" during their tenure and celebrating the "brilliant, ethical, and world class strategists at the company, helping to make the world a better place." However, they also accused executive leadership of "investigated and evidenced discrimination, harassment, and toxicity" directed toward them during their time at the company.

Microsoft spox Jeff Jones stated that Microsoft's DEI commitments "remain unchanged" and that the company's "focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering," but one can't help but think that this is appeasement talk. Firing off a key DEI team, which is used to guide DEI policy, doesn't just get eliminated without there being a backing away from the practice in some regard.

No more woke anywhere...