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.