AT&T sued over layoffs—after promising more investment because of tax cut

AT&T was sued by a workers' union that is trying to stop the company from instituting what it calls a "massive layoff." Thousands of employees are reportedly being laid off by the company, which reported $39.7 billion in revenue and $6.4 billion in operating income last quarter. AT&T is "instituting an unprecedented massive layoff of employees represented by the union while at the same time massively subcontracting work that the employees are trained and qualified to perform," the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said in a lawsuit filed Dec 30 in US District Court in Austin (TX). The union also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. AT&T didn't deny the layoffs but said the union allegations that AT&T violated collective bargaining agreements are "baseless."  AT&T also defended its employment levels. In doing so, AT&T undercut some of its own previous arguments that net neutrality rules suppress investment and that AT&T needed a big tax cut in order to boost investment.