The story broke Monday evening: in leaked 2021 footage released by the journalist / activist James O’Keefe (his title shifts depending on where one falls along the political spectrum) IBM CEO Arvind Krishna outlined a bonus structure that at least in part rewarded hiring discrimination in favor of women and specific, preferred races. Arvind further plainly stated “asians” did not count as “diverse,” implying — to my ear — hiring too many white or asian men was a punishable offense at the company. This was made more clear by Paul Cormier, chairman of IBM subsidiary Red Hat, who was also included in the shocking footage. In a proud bit of chest pounding, Paul revealed he actually fired executives for not meeting their race quotas. I’ve reached out to IBM for comment on what appears to be a hiring policy in violation of the Civil Rights Act, but have yet to hear back. 

After the news broke, America First Legal, a non-profit run by former Trump administration official Stephen Miller, filed a federal civil rights complaint against IBM for “racially discriminating against white and Asian Americans and promising to fire, demote, or deny bonuses to corporate executives who fail to meet their illegal race and sex-based hiring quotas.” But from here, legally speaking, it’s not really clear what happens. No former or prospective employee impacted by the policy has come forward with a charge against the company. In fact, we’re still not entirely certain these policies exist. Yes, IBM’s CEO said they exist, but America’s race discourse over the last few years has been absolutely wild, and I guess it’s at least possible Arvind was lying to appease the small handful of deranged employees at his company who worship at the altar of virulent, fantastical race obsession. At this point, his lawyers have likely told him “please stop talking,” and also “literally wtf,” so we’ll just have to wait for the next move. 

I do think, however, a next move is coming.