The Wednesday before Christmas just after the corporate tax cut bill was passed by congress, telecom giant AT&T announced it would give it employees a $1000 bonus after the tax bill was signed.
Telecom giant AT&T was quick to respond to news of U.S. tax reform, announcing it would give some employees bonuses once the legislation is signed into law.
AT&T said in a press release Wednesday that it would give more than 200,000 of its U.S. workers who are union members a special bonus of $1,000. The company also increased its capital expenditures budget by $1 billion in the U.S. [..]
In Wednesday’s announcement, AT&T noted its track record of creating U.S. jobs. Earlier this year, thousands of AT&T workers, members of the Communications Workers of America union, went on strike over issues like job security and outsourcing. Many AT&T workers already expected to receive 10 percent raises and $1,000 lump-sum back wages as a result of an agreement announced last week.
AT&T told CNBC the bonuses announced on Wednesday are above and beyond any existing agreements, which means some workers would get two $1,000 allocations: One with a new contract, and one when the tax reform bill is signed.
One of the prime reasons for giving these extra bonuses now is that AT&T will get a better tax rate on their tax deduction this year than it will after the tax cuts go into effect in January.
What they didn’t announce that they were planning to lay off thousands of workers starting next year and had already delivered pink slips on December 16 to 600 workers.
The telecommunications giant told the Chicago Tribune in a statement that the most of the affected workers are from its landline and other legacy service sectors, but the company did not say how many workers total would still be employed in 2018. [..]
The announcement came days after the New York Post reported that the company “pink-slipped more than 700 DirecTV home installers.”
On Friday, the Post also reported that AT&T has recently laid off “215 high-skilled technician jobs in nine Southern states” and plans to fire nearly 700 workers in Texas and Missouri beginning in February.
Union representatives expressed concern and resentment toward the company.
So much for using bogus bonuses to cover up the real agenda. Tax cuts don’t create jobs they only enrich the corporate big shots and the share holders.