Exclusive: Meta kills DEI programs

Context: Meta said it was changing course because the "legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," per a memo by Janelle Gale, vice president of human resources.

• The moves come just three days after Meta ended many of its efforts to fact-check and police speech on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
• The announcement also follows a host of public moves by tech companies and executives to align with the politics and cultural views of President-elect Trump and the MAGA movement.

State of play: Friday's memo by Gale — announcing changes to "our hiring, development and procurement practices" — was posted for Meta employees in Workplace, the company's internal communications tool.

• "The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," Gale wrote.
• "The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. … The term 'DEI' has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others."

The big picture: Similar moves have been made recently by other major companies, including Walmart in November and McDonald's just this week.

• Meta last week replaced its president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, with Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican who is now chief global affairs officer. Meta pledged a $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration — and added UFC president and CEO Dana White, a top Trump ally, to its board Monday.

Zoom in: Citing the "shifting legal and policy landscape," Meta's memo announced five big DEI pullbacks.

• Cutting Meta's DEI team: Meta will no longer have a team focused on DEI. Maxine Williams, the company's chief diversity officer, is taking on a new role at Meta, focused on accessibility and engagement, Gale wrote.
• Ending equity and inclusion programs: Meta will instead build programs "that focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background," Gale said.
• Sunsetting supplier diversity efforts: Meta will end efforts to source business suppliers from diverse-owned businesses. Moving forward, the company will "focus our efforts on supporting small and medium-sized businesses that power much of our economy," Gale wrote.
• Ending the "Diverse Slate Approach" to hiring: While Meta will continue to source candidates from different backgrounds, it will no longer use the diverse-slate hiring approach, which ensures a diverse pool of candidates is considered for every open position. "We believe there are other ways to build an industry-leading workforce and leverage teams made up of world-class people from all types of backgrounds," Gale wrote.

• Ending representation goals: Having representation goals, "can create the impression that decisions are being made based on race or gender," Gale wrote. "While this has never been our practice, we want to eliminate any impression of it," she said. She noted the company, "previously ended representation goals for women and ethnic minorities."

Zoom out: Data suggests tech employees tend to be more liberal than their employers. But over the last year, the public sentiment has shifted about corporations taking a stand on major issues like DEI, as well as environmental, social and governance issues.

• President-elect Trump, buoyed by a growing friendship with Elon Musk, last month endorsed the H-1B visa program for foreign tech workers.

What they're saying: "Meta has the privilege to serve billions of people every day," the memo concludes.

• "It's important to us that our products are accessible to all, and are useful in promoting economic growth and opportunity around the world. We continue to be focused on serving everyone, and building a multi-talented, industry-leading workforce from all walks of life."

Go deeper: Read the full memo ... Trump's anti-DEI brigade prepares to take power.