Salesforce Inc. is ending diversity goals in hiring after President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating such programs across the federal government and the private sector.
In its annual financial disclosures filed Wednesday, San Francisco-based Salesforce also removed previous references to diversity and inclusion being a “core value,” as well as language that some executive compensation was tied to “employee diversity measures.”
“While we are not specifying representation goals, we remain committed to our core value of equality,” a Salesforce spokesperson said when asked about the company’s hiring process.
During his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to wipe out diversity hiring in the federal workforce and among its contractors. Salesforce is one of the largest vendors of software to the US government. Trump issued a separate order requiring the government to pressure companies to end their diversity, equality and inclusion programs.
Companies from Target Corp. to Meta Platforms Inc. have recently cut their DEI initiatives. Several of Trump’s executive orders on the subject have been challenged in court.
Salesforce Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff has long been outspoken on social issues. He advocated for a San Francisco tax increase to fund initiatives to help the city’s homeless and threatened to pull investment from Indiana after the state passed a law allowing anti-gay discrimination on religious grounds.
“Our approach to equality is firmly rooted in compliance with federal law as a US company,” Salesforce wrote in new language included in Wednesday’s filing. “By adhering to these laws, we uphold a fair and inclusive environment where our employees can do the best work and teaming of their careers, reinforcing principles of equality, dignity and respect for all.”
The company in its filing identifies its “core set of values” as trust, customer success, innovation, equality and sustainability.
Separately, investors have been concerned about the potential impact on software companies from cost-cutting efforts within the government. Like other CEOs, Benioff has said Salesforce’s software could actually help the government reduce expenses.
Stephen Ehikian, acting administrator of the US General Services Administration, is a former Salesforce executive who has said he will work closely with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. That organization, known as DOGE, is not an official department but an office within the domain of the White House.
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