SECRET LEAKED VIDEO: CEO of IBM admits to using coercion to fire people and take away their bonuses unless they discriminate in the hiring process.
After pulling ads from X for ‘racism,’ IBM chief Arvind Krishna says he will fire, demote or strip bonuses from execs who don’t hire enough blacks, Hispanics — or hire too many Asians.
“You got to move both forward by a percentage that leads to a plus on your bonus,” Krishna said. “By the way, if you lose, you lose part of your bonus.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of race in the workplace.
The CEO of one of the world’s largest tech firms, IBM, admitted to using coercion to fire managers in the company and take away their bonuses for not meeting race quotas, a new video reveals.
This week, an insider from IBM provided us with an internal recording of a 2021 conference between Krishna and two other execs in which the three discuss diversity within the company — and consequences for not meeting diversity quotas.
“I expect at the executive level, so that is not just my directs, but all executives in the company, have to move forward by 1% on both underrepresented minorities,” Krishna said. “Let me say it: Asians in the US are not an underrepresented minority in a tech company.”
“You got to move both forward by a percentage that leads to a plus on your bonus,” Krishna said. “By the way, if you lose, you lose part of your bonus.”
“But, in all of them, we want to get to the representational demographics of the underlying populations,” Krishna said. “I’m not trying to finesse this, so for blacks, we should try to get towards 13-point-something percent. On Hispanics, you gotta get into the mid teens. On gender, OK, we are somewhere in the mid 30s, I think for all of IBM, but I think if I notice right, the representation is 50.”
Last week, IBM removed all advertising from X, formerly Twitter, in protest of Elon Musk’s political views and for the X algorithm placing IBM ads next to content promoting Nazism and antisemitism.
“IBM has zero tolerance for discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation,” an IBM spokesperson said in a statement.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs like IBM’s are increasingly coming under attack for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which makes it illegal to racially discriminate in the workplace in any form.
On the call with Arvind in the newly leaked video are Paul Cormier, the chairman of Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, and Red Hat’s communications director, Allison Showalter. Cormier says that Red Hat has terminated people because they weren’t willing to engage in racial discrimination through hiring and promotion quotas.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know were fired from Red Hat due to this policy, please get in touch with us.
“And that’s why I say let’s improve one point a year,” Krishna said. “I don’t like to set a target for a small group, but for the executive population, I want to say, ‘hey, you gotta improve by a percent a year.’ If we improve by that, then in a few years, we’ll actually get to where we want to get to.
“This summer, attorneys general from 14 states sent all the Fortune 100 firms a letter urging them to discontinue their diversity quotas when hiring, contracting and promoting employees — or else.
“We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices,” the letter read. “If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable—sooner rather than later—for your decision to continue treating people differently because of the color of their skin.
“Attorneys general from Kansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana signed the letter.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination in the employment context. It notes “[i]t shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;” or “(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” IBM is one of the biggest companies in the world. They’re one of the biggest employers, and one of the most valuable and recognizable brands on earth.
IBM is one of the 30 companies indexed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the main indicators of the health of the U.S. and global stock markets.
With the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action and legal pressure from states mounting, along with people like Elon Musk taking shots of corporate diversity programs, it’s questionable how long these policies will hold up.
We reached out to Arvind Krishna and Elon Musk for comment but haven’t heard back. I would certainly like to have a conversation with both of them.
