Roche abandons global diversity targets on concern over U.S. executive orders

Reuters

Wed, Mar 19, 2025, 3:45 AM 1 min read

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Roche has abandoned planetary targets for a much divers workforce to debar penalties from caller U.S. enforcement orders, the latest successful a slew of companies to bash so.

Among measures taken, Roche said its Chief Diversity Offices successful the U.S. and astatine its Basel office "will absorption connected inclusion and belonging, and responsibilities volition beryllium re-scoped accordingly". Diversity was not mentioned nether the Offices' caller remit.

According to a memo to planetary unit made disposable to Reuters, the changes were made to guarantee that Roche "can proceed to present medicines and diagnostic solutions to patients".

A fig of U.S. companies person been scaling backmost diversity, equity and inclusion programmes since U.S. President Donald Trump declared immoderate elements of DEI amerciable and threatened imaginable investigations into firms that signifier it.

Among companies not headquartered successful the United States, Swiss slope UBS this week scrapped references to establishing women successful absorption roles and hiring employees from taste number backgrounds from its 2024 yearly report.

Roche said the changes would besides instrumentality effect extracurricular the United States "because our planetary programmes and goals tin person an interaction connected our US organisations if we are not compliant nether the caller law", according to the memo.

(Reporting by Paul ArnoldWriting by Ludwig BurgerEditing by Rachel More)