The proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile is under scrutiny at the US Department of Justice, which opposes the $39 billion deal on grounds that it would cost jobs and violate antitrust laws. However, the union representing AT&T wireless broadband internet workers has sided with the company in asserting that the merger will actually create jobs.

The deputy attorney general James M. Cole has publicly stated the DoJ's position that mergers typically lead to job cuts. They have filed suit against the companies in part to protect jobs, but the Communications Workers of America (CWA) are endorsing the merger and criticizing the DoJ for standing in the way. The DoJ claims that the merger will result in up to 20,000 job cuts for T-Mobile workers. Most of the job cuts by AT&T in the past decade have been in the wireline business due to the rise of mobile phones.