Telecomm Giants Lay Off Thousands of Americans After Receiving Over $53 Billion in Tax Cuts
AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast got $50 billion in tax cuts in 2017, over $3.5 billion so far in 2018
AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast have laid off thousands of Americans since getting billions in cuts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, July 27, 2018
PRESS CONTACT:
press@notonepenny.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Not One Penny Spokesperson Tim Hogan released the following statement on telecom giants AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast laying off thousands of American workers, receiving over $50 billion in tax cuts from the GOP tax bill:
“Republicans have doled out more than $50 billion in tax cuts to the wealthiest telecommunications corporations that are sending out pink slips across America. These tax cuts were supposed to lead to new jobs and better livelihoods for working families, not job cuts and lower wages. Even as wealthy corporations make record profits, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans continue to insist the tax bill was a measure for working families –we know that’s not the case.”
KEY FACTS:
- Thanks to the GOP tax bill, AT&T got a $20.3 billion tax benefit in the 2017 tax year and has gotten an additional$1.4 billion in tax cuts so far in the first two quarters of 2018.
- Since passage of the tax bill, AT&T has sent pink slips to thousands of workers in Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio—laying off a total 2,244 people across the Midwest according to official state layoff reports.
- Verizon got $16.8 billion in tax cuts from the Trump tax bill in 2017 and an additional $1.26 billion so far this year.
- Since passage of the tax bill, Verizon has sent pink slips to 3,155 people. The company announced the closures of seven of its 16 customer service call centers, resulting in layoffs or relocations of thousands of employees. And according to official state data, workers were laid off or relocated in Albuquerque, NM (1,000 workers); Little Rock, AR (600 workers); Mankato, MN (300 workers) and North Charleston, SC (500 workers). The company also recently filed layoff notices for an additional 455 workers in California and Tennessee.
- Comcast got $12.7 billion in tax cuts in 2017 and an additional $866 million so far this year thanks to the GOP tax bill.
- Meanwhile, Comcast has laid off 790 workers—including hundreds of people within days of the tax law’s passage.
- Real wages across the country have fallen since the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans doled out $1.5 trillion in corporate tax cuts.