Local Government TV

Saturday, March 24, 2012

AT&T Blames FCC For T-Mobile's Call Center Closings

Barron von Footinmouth will no longer be able to prance outside T-Mobile's Call Center. It's closing. Six hundred jobs at the Hanover Township facility will be gone in June. Jim Cicconi, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs, interestingly blames the FCC:

“Yesterday, T-Mobile made the sad announcement that it would be closing seven call centers, laying off thousands of workers, and that more layoff announcements may follow. Normally, we’d not comment on something like this. But I feel this is an exception for one big reason– only a few months ago AT&T promised to preserve these very same call centers and jobs if our merger was approved. We also predicted that if the merger failed, T-Mobile would be forced into major layoffs.

“At that time, the current FCC not only rejected our pledges and predictions, they also questioned our credibility. The FCC argued that the merger would cost jobs, not preserve them, and that rejecting it would save jobs. In short, the FCC said they were right, we were wrong, and did so in an aggressive and adamant way.

“Rarely are a regulatory agency’s predictive judgments proven so wrong so fast. But for the government’s decision, centers now being closed would be staying open, workers now facing layoffs would have job guarantees, and communities facing turmoil would have security. Only a few months later, the truth of who was right is sadly obvious.

“So what’s the lesson here? For one thing, it’s a reminder of why “regulatory humility” should be more than a slogan. The FCC may consider itself an expert agency on telecom, but it is not omniscient. And when it ventures far afield from technical issues, and into judgments about employment or predictions about business decisions, it has often been wildly wrong. The other lesson is even more important, and should be sobering. It is a reminder that in government, as in life, decisions have consequences. One must approach them not as an exercise of power but instead of responsibility, because, as I learned in my years of public service, the price of a bad decision is too often paid by someone else.”

17 comments:

  1. Gubmint in a nutshell:

    Arrogant.

    Incompetent.

    Destructive.

    The only thing gained through troughfeeding is the weight of the pig.

    -Clem

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  2. get used to it as we drift toward government experts making more and more decisions about the economy (see Solyndra) for which they cannot possibly predict the unintended consequences.

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  3. Hey, how comes it you don't got no mention of da barron
    its his fault....no?

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  4. Lets see, CEO needs to cut costs and make the company more lean (after the merger). We need to keep all or some of the call centers. Hmmmm.... remember the pain in the arse one that was trying to become unionized up thar in Allentown. Yup. Shut it down. We need to cut costs and that would be the one. Too many problems up thar. Its just not worth it. Oh.. lets keep our southern and western centers. No union problems there. It all makes sense to me and many others. The union tag of PA is what is dragging down our state economy. We still have not shed the steel and truck persona. I would never locate a business here. Oh, and BTW, watch when Amazon leaves because of the cry babies that don't know how to work. Did I mention the Morning Call that feeds the frenzy with its hack stories of good business here? Im done.

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  5. "get used to it as we drift toward government experts making more and more decisions about the economy (see Solyndra) for which they cannot possibly predict the unintended consequences"

    yeah, life was so much better when we were less regulated.

    you dipshits would've been living in company housing, working off insurmountable debt at the company store, drinking poisoned water, and praying your kids had enough money to bury you when you died at the ripe old age of 52.

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  6. Listen,I know I'm no expert. BUT! I have been through 3 merger's in my lifetime and still have about 15 more years before retirment. Guess they didn't like the gov't beating them to the punchline on job losses if the merger wasn't approved. All 3 mergers I was involved with still meant job losses due to merging and wanting to increase the bottom line...nuff said.

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  7. It's really called business poker. Call my bluff. If you don't let me do what I want (IE: Merge and create a virtual monopoly) I'll trim costs by firing thousands of people. Gov't called their bluff and lost.

    Whenever we leave things upo to business, they ultimately screw the little guy. That's what Teddy R saw when he became the trustbuster.

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  8. The Barron was not responsible for this debacle but his kiss ass union posturing didn't help.

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  9. Bernie,

    Many Companies want Corporate Welfare provided to them by Government Representatives.
    Both the the R's and D's provide this to all who request it.
    The Bottom line is profit and loss. Profit is the driving force.

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  10. Keep yacking on about the little guy, Karl Marx.

    Re-elect Obama and be happy.

    Buy more Solyndra stock.

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  11. Of course the bottom line is profit. Just as it is in your household.

    For those of you who detest the profit motive:

    Give way every penny you have above six percent of your monthly expenses. That is all you need, all you deserve. With the six percent you have left, invest in companies that promise to lower your return each month. Or, if you think more highly of the public sector than private investment, give your "operating profit" to the government in exchange for everything you get from them and everything they do so well.

    Do it for one year, and let us know how it works out for you.

    -Clem

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  12. One reason T-Mobile liked the LV for this call center was because we have a large bi-lingual workforce. The center served T-mobile's hispanic customer segment very well. To the extent that Teletubby and his gimmecrat union rabblerouser pals had an impact, combined with the overreach of the left leaning FCC, the libtard do-gooders have once again screwed the pooch.

    Ironically, it may be a win-win for fatboy and friends:

    If you can't get 'em organized and get dues out them, get 'em fired and onto the government dole. The ends justify the means, when the goal is to secure the vote.

    -Clem

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  13. Bureaucracy has gone wild under this President. There are more old rules being enforced and new rules being thought up 'for our own good.' It is crazy.

    Lord protect me from those who try and protect me from myself.

    ABB-12 = Anybody but Barry in 2012.

    Someone has to straighten this mess our. We are strangling ourselves.

    And for those who believe profit is evil: go tell that to the firm you work for and volunteer to work for nothing so that they don't have to bring more money (profit)in order to pay your wages. And tell Buffet to pay his friggin' taxes and shut up!

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  14. Sounds like T mobile threatened these jobs if the merger were not approved irregardless of the long term consumer effects.

    Clearly T mobile is eliinating this jobs for cheaper labor, plain an simple.


    Corporate Greed.

    I am more concerend about escalating Healthcare Costs and how little was done until Healthcare reform was enacted.

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  15. Irredgardless?

    You are irreclueless.

    -Clem

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  16. Tony should be proud

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  17. Preventing monopoly power is more important than jobs. Sorry.

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