FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo is pictured in an Apple store in Paris, France, March 6, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Apple to scrap its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, a day after the iPhone maker's shareholders voted overwhelmingly to keep them in the face of growing pushback from conservative groups.
Big U.S. companies, including Meta and Alphabet, have dropped DEI initiatives as Trump's returned to the presidency.
He has called them discriminatory and suggested the Department of Justice could investigate if such efforts violate the law.
"Apple should get rid of DEI rules, not just make adjustments to them. DEI was a hoax that has been very bad for our country. DEI is gone!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that was in uppercase.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tuesday's vote at the iPhone maker's annual meeting was seen as a test of shareholder views on DEI programs, which many companies added or beefed up starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
Supporters of the policies say they address longstanding bias, inequity and discrimination. But proponents of the proposal against Apple's DEI had argued recent legal changes could result in an increase in discrimination cases if Apple continued such policies.
Trump issued an executive order in January to end DEI initiatives in the federal government and private sector, saying such efforts discriminates against other Americans, including white people and men and weakens the importance of merit in job hiring or promotion.
Apple has said it had an active oversight effort to avoid legal risks and that the proposal inappropriately restricted management.
The company reports workforce diversity data but sets no targets or quotas, focusing its DEI efforts on programs such as a racial justice initiative that supports historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S.
Apple's "strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate", CEO Tim Cook said at Tuesday's meeting.
But he also signaled the company may make some adjustments in response to new developments.
"As the legal landscape around these issues evolves, we may need to make some changes to comply, but our North Star of dignity and respect for everyone and our work to that end will never waver," Cook said.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Aditya Soni; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Arun Koyyur)
