T-Mobile officially scrapped its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to better align itself with the Trump administration’s policies, it has confirmed.
In a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr, T-Mobile executive Mark Nelson said the wireless carrier had made some “adjustments” to ensure its policies and practices “maintain close alignment with our values” and are “responsive to the direction you’ve provided.”
“For the last several years, we have described some aspects of our company culture and practices as aligned with ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI),” Nelson wrote.
“Our primary intention always was to create a culture that makes employees feel supported and therefore able to bring their best to the company.”
Nelson said the mobile carrier believes that “skills, aptitude, and a growth mindset are what contribute to exceptional performance—and that merit is how you advance at our company, regardless of who you are or where you’re from.”
The company recognizes, however, that the “legal and policy landscape” surrounding DEI under federal law has changed, and it remains “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,” he wrote.
To that end, T-Mobile is ending DEI-related policies “not just in name but in substance,” according to Nelson.
The company will no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on DEI, and is redirecting the “handful” of employees who had previously focused on DEI within its human resources department to employee culture and engagement.
It is also removing any references to DEI on its websites, future communications, and employee training materials, Nelson said.
In addition, Nelson said the company will not take part in recognition surveys that “focus on employees’ protected characteristics.”
Nelson also noted that the company informed the FCC earlier this year that it was eliminating specific targets or goals for “diverse spend” in its procurement policies.
He said state regulators have required T-Mobile to set “non-binding goals” for spending with suppliers that are “owned by particular demographic groups, and federal policy has promoted consideration of suppliers’ diversity characteristics.”
Though the goals weren’t requirements, the wireless carrier has changed its supplier diversity program to a supplier development program that “focuses on small businesses and not specifically on suppliers whose owners identify with a particular race, sex, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristic,” he said.
“I appreciate the chance to explain how our values complement your commitment to promoting excellence and merit, expanding free speech and expression, and ensuring workplaces are free of invidious forms of discrimination,” Nelson concluded the letter.
President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders aimed at ending DEI policies and programs since taking office as part of efforts to ensure every person is treated with “equal dignity and respect” and that federal funding is spent properly.
Carr welcomed the move from T-Mobile in a statement on social media platform X, calling it “another good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and the public interest.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, criticized T-Mobile’s decision, writing on X, “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.”
T-Mobile is awaiting FCC approval for its $4.4 billion deal to buy almost all of regional carrier U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations, including its customers, stores, and 30 percent of its spectrum licenses and spectrum leases.
In a May 2024 statement, T-Mobile said it expected the transaction to close by the middle of 2025.
The FCC is also looking at T-Mobile’s plan to establish a joint venture with the global investment firm KKR to acquire a 50 percent stake in the internet service provider Metronet.
T-Mobile said in a July 2024 statement that it would invest $4.9 billion for the stake, along with 100 percent of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and customers.
