Rep Inslee not happy with AT&T, T-Mobile answers on jobs

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) said AT&T and T-Mobile USA have failed to satisfy his concerns about job losses from their proposed merger and joined the call for the Federal Communications Commission to hold field hearings on the merger.

Rep Inslee wrote to both firms last month expressing his concern that the merger could destroy jobs, particularly in his home district. He is running for governor, and T-Mobile’s headquarters is just outside his district. In his letter, Rep Inslee asked for a detailed explanation of AT&T’s claim that the merger will result in $10 billion in savings through cuts to support and administrative services, including any estimated job losses. Rep Inslee said that both firms — and AT&T in particular — failed to adequately respond to his questions about jobs. His statement appears to place him with the small but growing number of Democrats opposing the deal, which would leave AT&T Wireless and Verizon with more than 80 percent of the wireless market.