Delta Underscores ‘Merit-Based’ Hiring in Report to Investors

Delta Air Lines Inc. signaled to investors its focus on “merit-based” hiring as companies continue to adapt to a Trump administration crackdown on diversity programs.

Delta included the term “merit-based” three times in the section of its 10-K annual report highlighting its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The term did not appear in the same report filed last year. Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The addition comes as companies have been reworking diversity language in the wake of conservative attacks on such efforts that have intensified after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to root ...