Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Friday June 21 2019, @12:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the business-as-usual dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

AT&T Lays Off Thousands After Nabbing Billions In Tax Breaks And Regulatory Favors

Back in November of 2017 AT&T promised that if it received a tax break from the Trump administration, it would invest an additional $1 billion back into its network and employees. At the time, CEO Randall Stephenson proclaimed that "every billion dollars AT&T invests is 7,000 hard-hat jobs." Not "entry-level jobs," AT&T promised, but "7,000 jobs of people putting fiber in ground, hard-hat jobs that make $70,000 to $80,000 per year."

Yeah, about that.

The Trump tax cut resulted in AT&T getting billions in immediate tax relief, and roughly $3 billion in tax savings annually, in perpetuity. Yet when it came time for AT&T to re-invest this money back into its network and employees, AT&T actually did the opposite and began laying them off in droves. Unions claim AT&T has laid off an estimated 23,000 workers worldwide since the Trump tax plan, with investors and executives unsurprisingly pocketing the savings. This week, the word came down that AT&T would be laying off thousands more as it wraps up fiber deployment:

"Leaked internal documents confirmed most of the 1,800 planned job cuts. One AT&T surplus declaration shows that more than 900 of the surplus jobs come from the company's Southeast division in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This document attributes most of the cuts to "economic" reasons and some to "technological/operational efficiency."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 21 2019, @02:36PM (4 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 21 2019, @02:36PM (#858552) Journal

    So, uhhhh, let me get this straight. You're saying that AT&T has never made any donations to a D candidate? AT&T has never lobbied a D congress critter? And, no D ever voted to give AT&T money by the truckload? It's only R's who do this?

    If that were true, I might consider becoming a D. Unfortunately, it isn't true, so I'll remain Independent.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Troll=1, Insightful=1, Touché=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Touché' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Friday June 21 2019, @03:41PM (3 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 21 2019, @03:41PM (#858584) Journal

    Corporations (who are people too!) have been known to make donations to both (or all) political sides. They want to be in favor with whoever ends up in power. They don't care about ideology, except for one ideology: money is god, and we want our executives to have all the money they can possibly get, before the shareholders and government can get it.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Friday June 21 2019, @10:51PM (2 children)

      by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Friday June 21 2019, @10:51PM (#858682)

      Corporations (who are people too!)...

      I'll believe that when I see one of them go to jail (yes, I saw the sarcasm tag :) ).

      --
      It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
      • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday June 22 2019, @04:41AM

        by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday June 22 2019, @04:41AM (#858774)

        I'd settle for a toe tag....../s

        --
        Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday June 24 2019, @01:37PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 24 2019, @01:37PM (#859337) Journal

        I use <no-sarcasm> tags when necessary. Not the other way around.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.