I’m sure you have seen the new AT&T adds pulling on Americans heart strings professing that their billion dollar merger will bring jobs. They says it was not the intent but it will be a byproduct. In this age of high unemployment, it’s a great ad campaign. Too good it turns out. It has caught the attention of the chief of the Federal Communication Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
Mr. Rick Kaplan is asking AT&T to clarify how the proposed merger with T-Mobile USA will add jobs in the United States. “Our review of the information currently in our record suggests that AT&T’s responses on this issue remain incomplete,” Kaplan said. The FCC is giving AT&T until October 31st to address fully “all plans, analyses and reports discussing the creation or loss of jobs” if the merger is approved.
AT&T must also disclose how many T-Mobile USA jobs will be eliminated and show how the merger will affect employment inside and outside of the United States during the next five years. AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson argued earlier this year that the proposed merger would be a “net job grower” in the United States. Now it’s time to walk the talk with some facts. Hopefully these facts are not full of fuzzy math.