Meta Vice President of Human Resources Janelle Gale reportedly announced the DEI moves in an internal employee memo, attributing the policy revisions to the changing “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States.”

While Amazon, which is the nation’s second-largest employer behind Walmart, is halting some of its diversity and inclusion programs, it is not eliminating them. In a memo to employees, Candi Castleberry, a senior human resources executive, said last month that Amazon was “winding down outdated programs and materials” as part of a review of hundreds of DEI initiatives.

Amazon’s “Our Positions” webpage recently eliminated specific sections titled “Equity for Black people,” “Diversity, equity and inclusion” and “LGBTQ+ rights.”

Meta and Amazon are the latest big employers to shift their tactics in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling and a conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

While Meta seems to be stopping all work in the DEI space, Amazon is not. “We believe this is important work,” said Castleberry, “so we’ll keep investing in programs that help us reflect those audiences, help employees grow, thrive, and connect, and we remain dedicated to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees, and communities around the world. Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes – and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture … We remain dedicated to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees, and communities around the world.”

Last year, Walmart, Boeing, Ford, John Deere, Harley-Davidson all rolled back their DEI initiatives. Walmart’s announcement last month followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees.

Related: Walmart is latest – and biggest – employer to roll back its DEI policies: Will more firms follow?

In contrast to many of these companies, Apple's board of directors recently shot down a request asking the company to abolish its DEI programs, policies, department and goals.

Also, Costco has forcefully rejected a shareholder proposal earlier this month that challenged its DEI policies. The National Center for Public Policy Research had filed a proposal that asked Costco to end its DEI initiatives because they are discriminatory and open the company up to financial and legal risks.

However, Costco’s board is urging shareholders to vote against the NCPPR proposal and has publicly stated its commitment to its DEI programs. The vote at Costco's upcoming annual meeting on January 23 will help determine whether Costco will join Walmart, McDonald's and several other major companies that have taken a stance against DEI initiatives.