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(Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp. spent months revising its diversity initiatives as conservative attacks and souring attitudes toward DEI shifted into a full-blown assault from President Donald Trump.
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IBM stopped tying executive compensation to aspirational workforce diversity goals last year and in recent months changed the focus of its supplier diversity program away from contractors’ race and gender to all small businesses and veteran-led companies, according to Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.
Employees were told of the changes earlier this week, in a memo that cited “inherent tensions in practicing inclusion.” Legal considerations and shifting attitudes to DEI were among the factors for the company. IBM Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna discussed the changes in his monthly video update to employees Thursday.
IBM joins a slew of major US businesses from Amazon.com Inc. to Walmart Inc. in a retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. While activists had been attacking such programs for a while, Trump accelerated the campaign with a series of executive orders mandating the federal government and its suppliers dismantle what he calls “illegal” DEI practices. IBM is a federal contractor.
Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck said he first contacted the company in February to question its policies. IBM confirmed it discussed its changes with Starbuck. He posted about it on social media on Thursday.
The Armonk, New York-based company also disbanded a diversity council that represents the views of employee groups as part of its reevaluation.
“IBM’s talent strategy is driven by the principle of having the best people with the skills to serve our clients,” the company said in a statement. “It is the policy of this organization to hire the people who have the personality, talent and background necessary to fill a given job, regardless of race, color or creed.”
--With assistance from Brody Ford.
(Updates starting with CEO address in third paragraph)
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