Despite Promises on Jobs, AT&T Announces California Layoffs

Sacramento, Calif. — Despite promises to use its enormous tax savings to create “7,000 high-paying, really good jobs,” AT&T this week announced additional layoffs across California.

“What AT&T has been doing in communities across California and across the country is inexcusable,” said Thomas Runnion, vice president of Communications Workers of America District 9. “The company has received over $21 billion in tax cuts, but has eliminated over 20,000 jobs since the tax cut passed. They hide behind words like ‘geographic rationalization,’ but they are causing real hardship to California’s working families in order to squeeze every last penny of profit out of their customers.”

A report in Motherboard earlier this year noted that California was one of the states targeted for layoffs. The latest layoffs affect 368 technicians represented by CWA. While the cuts impact locations across the state, they are concentrated in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas.

CWA has been calling for a Congressional investigation into how AT&T has been using its tax cut since it has not fulfilled its promise to create jobs and invest in the United States. While AT&T responds to criticism of its massive job cuts with boasts about hiring, hiring to address turnover is not the same as job creation.