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Wells Fargo Interviewed ‘Diverse’ Candidates for Nonexistent Jobs, Whistleblowers Say

Sources told the Times that the practice let the bank appear to be recruiting more people of color without actually doing so.

After George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, America’s third-largest bank, Wells Fargo, vowed to increase the diversity of its executive ranks. But seven current and former employees told The New York Times that they were directed by higher-ups to schedule job interviews with “diverse” applicants when the positions had already been promised to someone else. Another five Wells Fargo staffers told the paper that they were aware of the practice or participated in it in some way. They said the interviews were a smokescreen that let the bank appear to be recruiting more people of color without actually doing so, and would help protect the company during regulatory audits. A Wells Fargo spokeswoman told the Times that the company has clear-cut hiring policies and that such alleged behavior by “individual employees” would not be tolerated.