Google Ends Diversity Hiring Goals Following Trump Administration Pressure “`

SAN FRANCISCO — Following President Trump’s executive order pressuring government contractors to discontinue DEI initiatives, Google has discontinued some diversity hiring goals, joining other U.S. companies that have scaled back or eliminated their DEI programs.

This decision, communicated to Google employees via email on Wednesday, comes after President Trump issued an executive order targeting government contractors’ DEI programs.

Similar to other major tech companies, Google provides technology and services to the federal government, notably its expanding cloud division, a crucial component of its artificial intelligence efforts.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reflected this shift in its recently filed annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report removed a statement from previous filings affirming Google’s commitment to DEI and a representative workforce.

Google generates the majority of Alphabet’s $350 billion annual revenue and employs nearly all of its 183,000 global employees.

“We remain dedicated to fostering a workplace where all employees thrive and have equal opportunities. We’ve reviewed our programs over the past year and updated our 10-K language to reflect these changes. As a federal contractor, we’re also evaluating necessary adjustments in response to recent court rulings and executive orders,” stated Google in an Associated Press statement.

This language change follows shortly after Google CEO Sundar Pichai, along with other tech leaders including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg, supported President Trump at his inauguration.

Meta eliminated its DEI program last month, preceding the inauguration, while Amazon paused some DEI programs in December after Trump’s election.

Numerous non-tech companies have also scaled back DEI initiatives, including Walt Disney Co., McDonald’s, Ford, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, and John Deere.

Trump’s executive order threatens financial sanctions against federal contractors with allegedly “illegal” DEI programs. Non-compliance could result in substantial penalties under the 1863 False Claims Act, which subjects contractors making false claims to the government to treble damages.

The order also instructed federal agencies to investigate up to nine publicly traded companies, large non-profits, and other institutions with DEI policies considered “illegal discrimination or preference.”

Companies face the challenge of identifying which DEI policies the Trump administration deems “illegal.” Trump’s executive order aims to eliminate discriminatory DEI practices and policies within both the federal government and private sector.

Diversity initiatives encompass various practices, from anti-discrimination training and pay equity studies to recruitment efforts focusing on underrepresented groups and women.

Google, headquartered in Mountain View, California, has pursued hiring from underrepresented groups for over a decade, intensifying efforts in 2020 following George Floyd’s death.

Following Floyd’s death, Pichai set a goal to increase representation of underrepresented groups in Google’s leadership by 30% by 2025. While some progress has been made, the leadership composition hasn’t drastically changed.

Representation of Black individuals in leadership rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 5.1% last year, and Hispanic representation increased from 3.7% to 4.3%, according to Google’s annual diversity report. Women’s representation in leadership increased from 26.7% in 2020 to 32.8% in 2024.

These figures are similar across Google’s overall workforce, with Black employees at 5.7% and Latino employees at 7.5%. Two-thirds of Google’s global workforce is male.

—Associated Press business reporter Alexandra Olson contributed to this report.