It often seems as if this country takes one step forward and two steps back. Case in point: the unrestrained greed behind AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile.
Sure, the improved infrastructure and optimized speeds may look good on paper, but personally I’ll believe it when I see it.
Yes, it may sound somewhat colloquial, but really, we all know AT&T often bites off way more than it can chew (hello, iPhone?).
In the meantime, the merger doesn’t bode well for hundreds, if not thousands of employees, who appear destined to receive pink slips, a virtual pat on the back and an unceremonious escort to the door.
To be sure, Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project told The Hill there will be “hundreds or even more” empty storefronts in malls all over the country, as “a lot” of customer service representatives are slated to lose their jobs.
Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld echoed Schwartzman’s gloomy predictions.
“Outlet stores and customer service centers will be consolidated, as will work crews that maintain the networks,” explained Feld.
“I do not know the precise numbers, but I would expect, based on previous mergers, that it will result in the loss of thousands of jobs.”
But Jeffrey Silva of Medley Global Advisors adopted a more optimistic outlook and noted the expected job losses could be offset by the creation of new positions as AT&T expands its infrastructure over the next 7 years.
“[Yes], it may mean layoffs, and that could become a flashpoint in the debate. Layoffs tend to be inherent in mergers in order to gain efficiencies.
“But you can’t make any blanket statements, because you have the potential, on the other hand, to create jobs with investments in infrastructure.”
[Via The Hill]
