AT&T told the Federal Communications Commission that it has eliminated DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies and programs, complying with demands from Chairman Brendan Carr.
The FCC boss has refused to approve mergers and other large transactions involving companies that don’t agree to drop support for DEI. On Monday, AT&T filed a letter disowning its former DEI initiatives in the FCC docket for its $1 billion purchase of US Cellular spectrum licenses.
“We have closely followed the recent Executive Orders, Supreme Court rulings, and guidance issued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have adjusted our employment and business practices to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws and related requirements, including ending DEI-related policies as described below, not just in name but in substance,” AT&T’s letter to Carr said.
AT&T has separately applied for FCC approval of a $23 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar, and said it needs Department of Justice approval for a $5.75 billion deal to buy CenturyLink’s consumer fiber broadband division.
“Strategic financial play to curry favor”
Carr celebrated AT&T’s letter with an X post. “AT&T has now memorialized its commitment to ending DEI-related policies in an FCC filing and ‘will not have any roles focused on DEI,’” he wrote. Carr said the AT&T letter “follows the big changes @robbystarbuck already announced earlier this year,” referring to AT&T dropping several programs in March after pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, wrote that “AT&T’s reversal isn’t a sudden transformation of values, but a strategic financial play to curry favor with this FCC/Administration. Companies should remember that abandoning fairness and inclusion for short-term gain will be a stain to their reputation long into the future.”