Feb 22 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A )

on Saturday joined a growing list of American companies

to publicly change their approach to discussing their commitment

to diversity and inclusion.

Berkshire's annual report includes a section describing how

the conglomerate's 189 operating businesses, which employ about

392,400 people, depend on human capital and resources, and that

each establishes practices to attract and retain employees.

Last year's report said the businesses accomplished this in

part through hiring practices "intended to identify qualified

candidates and promote diversity and inclusion in the

workforce."

This year's report omitted the discussion of diversity and

inclusion, ending that passage after "candidates."

Buffett's assistant did not immediately respond to a request

for comment.

Berkshire has long said its decentralized structure allows

individual operating businesses to make their own day-to-day

operating decisions without interference from the top.

The company joined dozens of major U.S. companies including

Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Boeing ( BA ), Citigroup ( C/PN ), Ford,

McDonald's, Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and Walmart ( WMT ) in

curbing public support or initiatives for diversity, equity and

inclusion in the workplace.

Such initiatives have been attacked by many conservatives

including U.S. President Donald Trump, who has tried to

eliminate DEI from the federal government.

At Berkshire's annual meeting last May, shareholders voted

down by a nearly 4-1 margin a proposal that Berkshire disclose

more about its efforts to promote DEI in the workplace.

Berkshire's board of directors opposed the proposal.

Buffett has run Berkshire since 1965. The Omaha,

Nebraska-based company owns Geico car insurance, the BNSF

railroad, and an array of energy, industrial, retail and service

businesses.