Brooke Sutherland, Columnist

The Corporate PR Machine Is Primed for Tax Cuts

Neither AT&T nor Boeing needed a tax overhaul to make big investments.

December 20, 2017 at 11:13 PM UTC

Brooke Sutherland is Bloomberg News' Boston bureau chief and writes the Industrial Strength Newsletter. She was previously a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies and an M&A reporter for Bloomberg News.

1513812496_pic — Photographer: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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The ink is barely dry on Congressional Republicans' final version of the tax-cut bill, and already companies are rolling out their own press releases.

AT&T Inc. said it would pay a special $1,000 bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. union-represented employees once the bill is signed into law. The company also reiterated a commitment to invest an additional $1 billion in the U.S. next year. Not to be outdone, its rival, Comcast Corp. also announced $1,000 bonuses for workers and plans for $50 billion in capital spending over the next five years. Boeing Co., meanwhile, said it would make $300 million of investments as a result of the tax plan, split three ways between employee-gift match programs and charitable donations, workforce development and facilities enhancements. And Fifth Third Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co. each announced increases to their minimum hourly wage, among other things.