Was diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a low-interest rate phenomenon? All it took was four years and a labor market downturn to put it on life support — and companies are no longer afraid to prioritize profits over people, especially given the rising political stakes of DEI efforts.

Goodbye DEI, we hardly knew ya: In the aftermath of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, companies committed to becoming more inclusive. But four years later, many firms have decided that DEI is simply not worth the money. Large employers have significantly cut their DEI budgets — some by up to 90%. And now, some firms are abandoning diversity commitments entirely, with MicrosoftMSFT

announcing this week that it eliminated an entire DEI team, calling it “no longer business critical.”

• The news follows similar actions by tech firms like GoogleGOOG
  , MetaMETA
  , and ZoomZM
  , which once trumpeted their diverse workforces but have now made “significant cuts” to DEI.
• Even media companies have been cutting back. Warner Bros. Discovery’sWBD
  CNN axed its race and equality team and SnapSNAP
  reduced DEI roles.

Mask Off

While companies insist that diversity remains an important part of their business, the death of DEI isn’t just financial — it’s another example of how companies are bowing to Conservative pressure.

• Over the last year, Republicans at the state and federal levels have filed lawsuits, passed anti-DEI bills, and proposed bans on DEI policies in the government.
• In recent weeks, agriculture giants John DeereDE
  and Tractor SupplyTSCO
  tamed their DEI and climate goals over backlash from a Conservative activist investor.

Forward-looking: Conservatives have successfully pushed some companies to abandon climate targets, support for the LGBTQ+ community, and now DEI — marking a significant reversal of pandemic-era promises made by large corporations. These political tensions could worsen with the upcoming election, potentially exacerbating the culture war and the fabric of American society.