T-Mobile is the latest company to end its diversity. equity and inclusion programs as it tries to gain FCC approval for certain transactions.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the company said that after a review, “T-Mobile is ending its DEI-related policies as described below, not just in name, but in substance. We have made the below adjustments to ensure our policies and practices maintain close alignment with the direction you’ve provided and are consistent with nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity laws.”
Carr told Bloomberg News in March that he would seek to block mergers and major transactions of companies that have DEI policies, which has has claimed are “invidious” forms of discrimination. Carr also has launched investigations of media companies, including Comcast and Disney, over their DEI policies. In the case of Disney, Carr noted that “while I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain.”
Carr has said that even though Disney and Comcast are private companies, he opened the investigations because the FCC has regulatory oversight.
“Another good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and the public interest,” Carr wrote on X on Wednesday.
Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic commissioner on the FCC, said in a statement, “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.
“History will not be kind to this cowardly corporate capitulation. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies are rooted in fairness and equal opportunity. They were created to fight discrimination—not promote it. Anyone claiming otherwise is distorting the truth to justify and reward discriminatory behavior.”
In May, Verizon ended its DEI policies and, on day later, the FCC approved the company’s $20 billion acquisition of Frontier.
T-Mobile is seeking approval for its acquisition of US Cellular’s wireless operations, as well as a joint venture with KKR to acquire Metronet.
Carr was appointed by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in January to end DEI programs throughout the federal government.
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