Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

Tax incentives - RTO

“ The theory goes like this: Companies negotiate tax write-offs on offices based on the assumption that the employees filling them will support nearby businesses and pay state and local taxes. New work-from-home norms meant those offices were much emptier, jeopardizing those deals. “It's always about money”.

While some corporate types are convinced that the best work is done shoulder-to-shoulder in a traditional office, the Redditors are onto something. Cities and states grant billions in tax incentives to US companies every year to open offices in their area. Buried in the fine print of many agreements is the expectation that companies will deliver something in return: full-time jobs, done primarily on-site. New jobs bring new payroll, income and sales taxes — but not if they’re done elsewhere

The mission for the employees, should they choose to accept it, is to make it MORE expensive for the company to have us in office.

Everyone do your part.

Example:
Make sure you leave any water running that you can, flush EVERY toilet as many time as possible.

Be creative and share your ideas.

Civil disobedience.

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Post ID: @OP+1vHhZGmD

19 replies (most recent on top)

It's good to see how all of us cling to positivity in times like this. Sadly, there is no tax break for having employees occupy an office. There are municipalities that would give a 100% tax break to AT&T for moving to their city. AT&T could move to any of them. The truth is that much of AT&T operations will be automated during the next few years, and there are way more employees than needed.
RTO 5 days a week is going to eliminate employees that are unable to comply, regardless of age, race, education, experience, and other criteria. Keep in mind, while we spend our time in the office doing our jobs, AT&T is diligently working to find ways to hire off-shore companies to take over what we do. There are no tax breaks involved with what is happening to the telecom industry, or us for that matter.
Be nice to your co-workers. Take an online college class on something that interests you (anything). We are all in this together, and I know every single one of us will find better jobs at better companies.

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Post ID: @3aqa+1vHhZGmD

I instituted "a thing a day". Every day i go in the office, I take something home. Nothing big. Nothing with a serial number. I dont want to set any flags off. A roll of TP here. Some paper towels then next day. Maybe some coffee. I got wheel chocks for my home garage. Some new cords for my home computer. My home monitors are old retired corp. monitors. Since they are retired no one is looking for them.
One piece at a time and it didn't cost me a dime.

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Post ID: @1oep+1vHhZGmD

I often have to work nights and since I was forced into an office with no one else there, I enjoy walking the building turning all the motion sensing lights on.

It’s funny, bc when you’re forced to do something that isn’t logical, it just makes you resent the place so much you want to get them back for it.

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Post ID: @1olg+1vHhZGmD

I have to call BS on the tax incentive theory. The company PAYS property taxes to local governments for their office space for the most part, they don't get money back, and very few localities have the blue-state power to tax corporate income in any appreciable way. They are just forcing you to quit, not saving on some mysterious tax incentive plan. Tax incentives are mostly only offered to lure companies to an area in the first place.

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Post ID: @1gjx+1vHhZGmD

They aren’t moving anyone to Atlanta.

They're waiting on the shake out at Atlanta. Everyone I know who got letters this fall has Atlanta assignments with deadlines to move either March or June 2025.

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Post ID: @tdv+1vHhZGmD

Example: Make sure you leave any water running that you can, flush EVERY toilet as many time as possible.

Be creative and share your ideas. Civil disobedience.

Don't be a wasteful a--hole.

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Post ID: @xkc+1vHhZGmD

This is not the case for the Atlanta Lenox offices. Bellsouth tried to negotiate incentives from Lianne Levitan, the CEO of Dekalb County at the time of construction. Ms Levitan knew the employees would not spend money in Dekalb County because Lenox Mall was just over the county/city line in Fulton County, City of Atlanta. The growth around the Lenox Office park has continued to be on the other side of the line.

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Post ID: @hio+1vHhZGmD

HR here: It’s all “fo’ sho”. AT&T has a 150-year history of lawyers and bean counters making things look like we’re complying with laws, legislation and contracts. An L6 gives/takes a bribe, courts fine AT&T $50M, AT&T counters with $3M and we’ll have annual anti bribery training to ensure never happens again. City Tax Incentive for headquartering in Hub City, AT&T will do the math on how to report compliance, red circles loyal employees, generates report for show to provide to City Comptroller. AT&T is smart when it comes to cooking the books, but AT&T is terrible at customer service and common sense. If AT&T was a lemonade stand, they’d have used antifreeze in the cups and claim it’s part of their environmental sustainability program.

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Post ID: @yjp+1vHhZGmD

The Blackrock Dino clown of a CEO is all you need to know.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-blamed-100817540.html

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Post ID: @pji+1vHhZGmD

“ Atlanta and Dallas can pay and will pay if we move thousands of workers to Dallas and Atlanta. ”
They aren’t moving anyone to Atlanta. As a matter of fact any backfills are Dallas only right now. Atlanta’s days are numbered. Idc if they are cheaply renovating space to make room here, that’s mainly for the property owners. They already moved in other companies to 1277 (which used to be an ATT only building), they will do the same to 1055 and 1057. Eventually when enough people are gone (they are hoping by the end of 2025, they will lease out space in 1025 also.

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Post ID: @lvg+1vHhZGmD

They may have negotiated ahead of this with cities that can pay to kiss the ring of the kingmaker Stankey. Atlanta and Dallas can pay and will pay if we move thousands of workers to Dallas and Atlanta. With a smaller workforce we do need to consolidate real estate at some point we have too many empty buildings so why not get paid for doing it. It’s AT&T they always get something from the govt for something they already wanted to do.

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Post ID: @mhj+1vHhZGmD

This is the way. Additionally, if we are forced to be 8x5, do NOTHING to stimulate the local economy……don’t eat out, buy gas, shop, or do ANYTHING in the vicinity of the office. Bring lunch, show up, go home, and spend your dollars anywhere but in the tax jurisdiction of the office. Make the fiscal side of this fail, and the external pressure loses viability.

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Post ID: @mcj+1vHhZGmD

"This is very locale specific. In many areas, tax incentives (abatements) are negotiated to get a company to move into an area. Once they "move", nobody is taking attendance in most places."

Think about it...

If this were true everywhere, all that would be required is to have people show up at ANY office to gain tax benefits at that location. There were plenty of candidates in St. Louis, Chicagoland, and NJ.

There very possibly could have been an abatement deal with Dallas to move HQ from San Antonio, but in many areas the tax is paid on the real estate and expensive equipment, regardless of the number of souls inside.

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Post ID: @cpf+1vHhZGmD

This is very locale specific. In many areas, tax incentives (abatements) are negotiated to get a company to move into an area. Once they "move", nobody is taking attendance in most places.

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Post ID: @whu+1vHhZGmD

I think that the ownership of offices that can only be sold for 50¢ on the dollar is a bigger factor than any other factor.

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Post ID: @gjz+1vHhZGmD

These tax incentives only total up to $1.1B for the whole company.

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Post ID: @cou+1vHhZGmD

They would like to keep you away from the groceries you bought for ALL three meals if possible.

The businesses in downtown “HUB” want you to grab that morning coffee at Starbucks (7am), run across the street for Subway (12 noon) and then grab food on the way home because you don’t have time to cook(5pm).

That is the reason for 8 hour days in office. Because 8 hours in office really means 12 hours away from home so you need to spend money.

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Post ID: @sbr+1vHhZGmD

OP - This is probably correct, however what about the 8 hours a day chained to the desk? Is this because you are there all 8 hours, they expect you will purchase lunch, snacks etc keeping the economy booming? If you go for 6 hours, what is the difference - asking a serious question.

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Post ID: @yon+1vHhZGmD

Leave food out, and make a crummy mess, inviting vermin and bugs. If they came after me for a $25 overage in my contingency travel, they'll love extra exterminator bills. Lord knows the ma&pop cleaning companies they hire don't vacuum every week. And when they do, it's half a$$ed.

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Post ID: @eij+1vHhZGmD

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