Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced that it will no long set hiring targets in order to improve employee representation.
Alphabet announced in an email to its staff that it would no longer be setting “aspirational” hiring goals to increase the diversity of its workforce.
Alphabet announced in its annual report released the same day that it would no longer be committing to make DEI a “part of all we do”. This statement had been included in reports for 2021-2023.
Fiona Cicconi is the chief people officer of Alphabet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Cicconi wrote that “in 2020, we set aspirational goals for hiring and focused on expanding our offices outside California or New York in order to improve representation.”
The email continued, “We will continue to invest across the US and in other countries around the world. But in the future, we won’t have aspirational targets.”
After Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended DEI offices in the US federal government and initiatives, the internet giant joined companies like Meta, Ford, Amazon, and McDonald’s who have scaled back, scrapped or modified their DEI programs.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, set the goal of increasing the “representation of underrepresented groups at the top of leadership positions” by 30 percent before 2025.
Approximately 75% of its US-based executives were men, and 96% were either white or Asian. Only 3.7% of the company’s US employees are black, and 5.9% Hispanic.
Google’s diversity report for 2024 showed initial progress towards the company goals. 5.7% of US workers were black, and more than 7.5% Hispanic.
Cicconi stated that Google, as a federal contractor, was evaluating its diversity programme “to comply” with recent court rulings and US executive orders.
Melonie Park, Google’s chief diversification officer, will be responsible for “carefully evaluating all programs, including those that may raise risks or are not as effective as we had hoped”, according to an email.
In an interview with the BBC , Parker said that she was “really pleased” about “how we intensified the DEI work after the murder of George Floyd.”
She added: “The key to a successful business is having employees who feel like they are part of the company and that they are valued.
We’re implementing a company-wide strategy to achieve our five-year goals for racial equality. We are constantly reviewing our milestones and reporting them out on an annual basis, allowing us to be transparent both internally and externally. Our partners, users and creators, as well as our workforce, will be able to see the progress that we are making.
Cicconi and other business leaders who have scrapped DEI measures over the past few months indicated that the move would help them align themselves with the Trump Administration. After his inauguration, on January 20, Trump terminated federal DEI programs. He encouraged private companies and other business leaders to do the same.
Other businesses, such as Apple, and Costco, are also sticking to their DEI policies. Both companies have recently responded to shareholder pressures to stop diversity and inclusion programs.
Alphabet/Google are currently finishing up an 11-storey UK HQ at King’s Cross in north London. It is the same length as the largest cruise ship on the planet at 330 meters. The building will have rooftop gardens, a swimming pool of 25 metres, and a basketball court. Around 4,000 people, or more than half the number of Google employees working in the UK, will be employed there.
Pichai, speaking in King’s Cross, in 2016, when the plans for building were being finalised, said that the election of Trump – at the time his first win – had raised questions of equality and other challenges for the technology giant.
The UK, unlike much of the US has a number of DEI laws which must be adhered to under the Equality Act 2010. In addition, the Starmer Government promises more action in the future Employment Rights Bill.
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