Deloitte, the largest of the Big Four firms, is split over DEI

Yahoo

12-02-2025

Deloitte US has made a series of changes to its DEI practices, according to internal memos seen by BI.
The changes follow a review of "pertinent government directives," Deloitte said.
But a boss told UK staff in a memo on Tuesday that the company's UK division would not follow suit.
The world's largest professional services firm, Deloitte, is pulling back its diversity programs in the US, joining the growing number of companies altering their policies in the first weeks of the Trump administration.
"We will sunset our workforce and business aspirational diversity goals, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Transparency report, and our DEI programming," Doug Beaudoin, Deloitte's chief people officer, told employees in an email sent on Monday, which Business Insider has seen.
Beaudoin wrote that the changes were taking place after the firm had undertaken "a detailed review of all pertinent government directives to ensure we comply with their requirements, both as a private enterprise and as a government contractor." That review was in line with "others in the marketplace," he said.
"Everyone is welcome at Deloitte," Beaudoin emphasized in bold text in the email.
The memo comes a week after Deloitte asked workers in its Government & Public Services (GPS) division, which serves the public sector, to remove pronouns from their email signatures.
In a memo sent on February 5, which BI has also seen, GPS workers were told to update their email signature template in order "to align with emerging government client practices and requirements."
"Please note that the template is limited to name, role information, and business contact information. Any other personal information, including quotes, taglines or pronouns, should not be included," the directive said.
GPS workers have a "longstanding commitment to compliance with US government requirements," the memo noted.
While the changes to DEI programs apply to Deloitte's 173,000 US employees, the firm's UK branch has signaled a split with its US counterpart.
In a memo sent on Tuesday to UK workers and seen by BI, Deloitte UK said it remained "committed" to diversity goals and would continue to report annually on its progress on inclusion.
"Events in the external landscape do not change our commitment to building an inclusive culture and helping all our people to reach their full potential," Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, wrote in the internal memo.
Addressing Deloitte US's changes on DEI, Houston told the UK workforce that leaders had "been clear that this reflects the need to remain fully compliant with federal laws."
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end diversity programs across the federal government and ordered all federal DEI staffers to be placed on leave while their departments are disbanded.
Last week, Trump's newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the Department of Justice to "investigate, eliminate, and penalize" any "illegal" DEI programs at private sector companies and universities that receive federal funds.
Deloitte receives $3.2 billion annually through its contracts with federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services.
Two Deloitte GPS employees who spoke to BI said they were not surprised by the firm's decision to alter DEI practices in line with the administration's policies.
Both asked to remain anonymous as they are not permitted to speak to the media.
One staffer told BI they believed the move had been made to "minimize potential risk exposure" and "maintain goodwill" with the administration.
"Deloitte is taking the 'better to be safe, than sorry' approach here," the person added.
Deloitte has already clashed with the MAGA movement after one of its employees was revealed to have leaked messages sent by now-Vice President JD Vance in 2020 that were highly critical of Trump to The Washington Post.
In September 2024, Donald Trump Jr. posted the name of the Deloitte executive accused of leaking messages on X.
"Deloitte also gets $2B in govt contracts. Maybe it's time for the GOP to end Deloitte's taxpayer funded gravy train?" the president's son said.
The Big Four firm joins a growing list of companies, including Meta, Walmart, and Target, that have rolled back their DEI policies in recent months.
Last week, fellow consulting giant Accenture told staff it was revising its DEI policies. The consultancy chose similar phrasing to Deloitte, telling staff in an internal memo that it was "sunsetting" existing goals and programs.
Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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