With Transactions Pending, T-Mobile Is Eliminating Vestiges of DEI
T-Mobile is adjusting its practices to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs targeted by the Trump administration, said Mark Nelson, the carrier's general counsel, in a letter to the FCC posted Wednesday. Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized T-Mobile for making the concessions.
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T-Mobile had previously offered to make DEI changes that affected some of its programs, before receiving FCC approval of its acquisition of a stake in fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos (see 2504010034). Nelson's letter this week was posted in dockets 24-286, on the company's proposed buy of wireless assets from UScellular (see 2405280047), and 24-244, on its proposed acquisition of a stake in fiber-based provider Metronet (see 2407240020).
"In yet another cynical bid to win FCC regulatory approval, T-Mobile is making a mockery of its professed commitment to eliminating discrimination, promoting fairness, and amplifying underrepresented voices,” Gomez said on X. “History will not be kind to this cowardly corporate capitulation.”
DEI policies “are rooted in fairness and equal opportunity” and “were created to fight discrimination -- not promote it,” Gomez said. “Anyone claiming otherwise is distorting the truth to justify and reward discriminatory behavior."
"Our primary intention always was to create a culture that makes employees feel supported and therefore able to bring their best to the company,” said the letter, addressed to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “We recognize that the legal and policy landscape surrounding DEI under federal law has changed, and we remain fully committed to ensuring that T-Mobile does not have any policies or practices that enable invidious discrimination, whether in fulfillment of DEI or any other purpose.”
A “handful of T-Mobile employees who focused on diversity and inclusion will be redirected within Human Resources to focus on employee culture and engagement,” Nelson said. The carrier also “removed references to DEI … from its employee training materials and will ensure that all future training materials are focused on achieving the company’s core business objectives and anti-discrimination instruction.” T-Mobile casts “a wide net” in hiring and recruitment, the letter said. “We don’t use hiring quotas, goals, or percentages based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.”
Similar to an announcement just before the FCC Wireline Bureau approved Verizon’s buy of Frontier in May (see 2505160050), T-Mobile said in a separate filing in both dockets that it's working with NATE, which represents infrastructure builders, on concerns the group has raised about pricing and other issues.