Adobe’s Chief People Officer has announced the company will discontinue its explicit diversity, equity and inclusion numerical targets, becoming the latest US technology firm to scale back or restructure its DEI commitments. The announcement was made in an internal communication that was subsequently reported by media, confirming Adobe would move away from setting specific demographic representation goals as part of its people strategy.

The decision follows similar moves by Amazon, Meta, Ford and Walmart, as a number of major US corporations re-examine DEI programmes in response to legal pressure following the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on affirmative action, as well as growing political scrutiny from conservative lawmakers.

What Adobe said

Adobe’s CPO stated that the company “remains deeply committed to creating a workplace where everyone belongs and can thrive,” but acknowledged that the landscape around diversity programming had shifted significantly. The company indicated it would refocus efforts on inclusive practices and equitable processes rather than headline numeric targets.

Adobe had previously published annual diversity data showing the breakdown of its workforce by gender and ethnicity, and had set specific targets for increasing representation of underrepresented groups in technical and leadership roles.

The broader DEI retreat

The rollback at Adobe is part of a wider trend playing out across corporate America. Since early 2025, dozens of Fortune 500 companies have quietly wound down or renamed their DEI offices, dissolved employee resource group budgets, and removed specific diversity goals from executive compensation metrics. Some have rebranded programmes under neutral terms such as “belonging” or “workforce excellence.”

HR experts are divided on the implications. Critics argue the retreat sends damaging signals to employees from underrepresented groups, risks losing ground on inclusion progress made over the past decade, and may damage employer brand among younger talent who consider DEI commitments in job selection decisions.

Proponents of the shift counter that rigid numerical targets were always legally and ethically fraught, and that the focus on sustainable, process-driven inclusion is more robust and defensible in the long term.

APAC context

For HR leaders in Asia Pacific, the Adobe announcement is a reminder that DEI strategy cannot be simply imported from US headquarters without adaptation. In Singapore, Malaysia and other APAC markets, diversity frameworks must navigate distinct social, legal and cultural contexts. Many regional HR leaders expressed caution about following the US trend, noting that inclusion initiatives in Asia are at earlier stages of maturity and that visible leadership commitment remains important.