Deloitte US has instructed staff working on contracts for the American government to remove pronouns from their emails, becoming the latest company to redraw policies in the face of Donald Trump’s anti-diversity drive.

The consultancy and accounting giant reportedly gave contracted staff until 7 February to scrub pronouns from email signatures, while also announcing it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programme.

The instructions were sent in an email to 15,000 staff in Deloitte’s government and public services practice, which explained the move was meant to “align with emerging government client practices and requirements”.

Staff were also told on Monday that the company was planning to “sunset” its annual diversity report and wider DEI programming, according to a report by the Financial Times.

It is the latest sign that private companies are bowing to pressure from the White House to ditch DEI policies that conservatives claim result in “reverse discrimination”.

Trump used executive orders last month to reverse DEI policies in the federal government. Government staff are now required to report any colleagues they believe are furthering DEI efforts “in disguise”, and have received emails warning of “adverse consequences” if they fail to report any colleagues who are still carrying out DEI measures.

While the orders do not apply to private companies, Trump has asked the US attorney general’s office to look into ways that it can get them to apply to the private sector.

Alphabet’s Google announced last week it was scrapping its goal to hire more employees from historically underrepresented groups and was reviewing some of its own DEI initiatives.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms said, also in an internal memo, it was ending its DEI programmes, including those for hiring, training and picking suppliers. Meanwhile, Amazon announced it was “winding down outdated programs and materials” related to representation and inclusion, in a memo to its employees, seen by Reuters.

DEI has been under attack by rightwing activists after the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd.

However, members of the Trump administration have ramped up the backlash, with Elon Musk and other allies of Trump claiming without evidence that DEI programmes were to blame for impeding response efforts for the severe wildfires in Los Angeles and for last month’s helicopter and plane collision in Washington DC.

Deloitte was contacted for comment.