"Taxpayers aren't going to let AT&T get away with receiving over $21 billion in tax cuts and then destroying the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people."
by Jake Johnson
AT&T promised to create thousands of new jobs as President Donald Trump's tax legislation moved through Congress in 2017—but the telecom giant has done precisely the opposite since the bill became law, while raking in over $20 billion in extra profits.
That's according to an analysis published Monday by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which found that AT&T has slashed 23,328 jobs since Congress passed Trump's tax bill in 2017, including nearly 6,000 in the first quarter of 2019 alone.
Meanwhile, according to CWA, AT&T has reaped $21 billion in tax cuts thanks to the Republican law, with $3 billion in annual savings expected in the future.
"What AT&T is doing to hardworking people across America is disgraceful," CWA president Chris Shelton said in a statement. "Taxpayers aren't going to let AT&T get away with receiving over $21 billion in tax cuts and then destroying the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people."
Shelton demanded a congressional investigation into AT&T's broken promises.
"Congress needs to investigate AT&T to find out how it is using its tax windfall since the company's own publicly available data already raise serious alarm bells," Shelton said. "AT&T got its tax cut. Where are the jobs?"
Since Congress passed the #GOPTaxScam, @ATT has:
❌ Received a $21 billion tax cut windfall
❌ Eliminated 23,328 jobs
❌ Boosted executive pay
❌ And slashed capital investments by $1.4 billionhttps://t.co/S40sHz9ajs— CWA (@CWAUnion) May 14, 2019
While slashing jobs, the CWA analysis found, AT&T hiked executive pay and cut capital investments by over a billion dollars—contrary to the promises of CEO Randall Stephenson.
AT&T also "paid no cash income taxes in 2018," CWA said, citing the company's annual report to investors.
"AT&T lobbied for the tax bill and said it would use its resulting increased profits to create more good middle-class jobs and raise wages, but the company continues to eliminate jobs, devastating workers throughout the country," said CWA. "Last week, AT&T announced it is laying off an additional 368 technicians represented by CWA in California."
Originally appeared on Commondreams.org | Photo: Communications Workers of America
