AT&T pocketed Trump’s tax cuts after promising 7,000 new jobs — but it slashed 23,000 jobs instead

Telecom giant AT&T promised big things in the wake of President Donald Trump’s signature tax cut that passed in 2017 — but a new report suggests those promises haven’t come close to being realized.

Ars Technica reports that AT&T has actually cut 23,000 jobs ever since the passage of the tax law, even though it lobbied for the law and claimed it would help create thousands more jobs.

“AT&T’s total employment was 254,000 as of December 31, 2017 and rose to 262,290 by March 31, 2019,” the report states. “But AT&T’s overall workforce increased only because of its acquisition of Time Warner Inc. and two smaller companies, which together added 31,618 employees during 2018… Excluding employees gained via mergers, AT&T’s workforce dropped from 254,000 to 230,672.”

Additionally, Ars Technica found that AT&T actually slashed its capital spending in the wake of the tax cut, which was supposed to free up more money for companies to make big investments.

“AT&T reported $21.6 billion in capital expenses in 2017 and $21.3 billion in 2018, a cut of $300 million,” the report notes. “AT&T capital spending is already down more than $900 million this year, as the telco reported Q1 2019 capital expenditures of $5.18 billion, down from $6.12 billion in Q2 2018.”

Source: AT&T pocketed Trump’s tax cuts after promising 7,000 new jobs — but it slashed 23,000 jobs instead