WASHINGTON — Amtrak, which was recognized as one of the best employers for diversity in 2023, will no longer devote resources to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, a company spokesman has confirmed.
Bloomberg first reported the move, saying the company had informed employees of that policy in a Feb. 6 email. That email also informed workers they would be required to work in-office four days a week beginning March 3.
Amtrak’s change follows a Jan. 29 memo by newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordering Department of Transportation agencies to “identify and eliminate” any activities that relate “in any way to climate change, ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, racial equity, gender identity, ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ goals, environmental justice, or the justice 40 initiative.” [See “Trump administration shakes up funding formulas for rail projects,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 4, 2025]
The law creating Amtrak says it “will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government,” structuring it as a for-profit organization created by Congress, but the DOT is the company’s “preferred stockholder.” The law provides for DOT to select two members of Amtrak’s board, while the Secretary of Transportation is an ex officio board member.
Duffy’s memo followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 23 that called for an end to all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, policies, and activities within the federal government.
At least some diversity-related material appears to have been stricken from Amtrak’s website. A page with the web address www.amtrak.com/diversity remains in place as of 9 a.m. today (Feb. 9, 2025) but is also at the address https://www.amtrak.com/employee-experience-culture. It features a message from CEO Stephen Gardner saying the company is “cultivating a workplace culture that welcomes everyone.” The site also includes 2023 and 2024 press releases on the company’s annual diversity reports remain available, links are dead to all four diversity reports themselves, released beginning with the 2020 fiscal year.
The 2024 press release cites statistics including a 55% promotion rate for diverse talent in fiscal 2023 and a 60% growth in membership in Employee Resource Groups, “which offer camaraderie, personal, and professional development opportunities.” It quotes Robert Grasty, chief human resources officer, as saying, “Each of us brings a different life experience. We are stronger when those voices are heard.”
Also still available on the Amtrak website is an April 25, 2023, press release on the company’s recognition on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity list that year. Qiana Spain, then chief human resource officer, said in that release, “Amtrak is building a new era of passenger rail that will change how America moves. This includes a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy that supports recruiting, developing and retaining our people. Being recognized as Forbes Best Employers for Diversity validates our efforts as we work to deliver more trains to more people.” [See “Forbes names Amtrak as a top employer for diversity,” Trains News Wire, April 26, 2023].
The back-to-office order appears to reflect another Trump executive order, signed on his first day back in office, that requires all executive-branch employees “to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
Amtrak did not respond to a question regarding the current office work policy, or other questions regarding the diversity policy.
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