T Mobile

That didn't take very long. T-Mobile completed its contentious $26B merger with Sprint, a move that consolidated the number of major telecoms from four to three, on April 1.

To win federal approval and ease concern about reducing consumer choice, T-Mobile argued that a beefed-up company would have the financial wherewithal to go head-to-head with Verizon and AT&T, invest in new technologies and create thousands of new jobs.

Now former CEO John Legere promised a combined company would create 11K more jobs by 2024 than the standalone companies would have.

It's not looking very good.

Via a six-minute conference call on June 15, T-Mobile told hundreds of Sprint employees that they are being let go.

The company claims it is scrutinizing the merged organization to focus on areas where consumers need it most. "This will result in additional career opportunities for many, as the company positions itself for long-term healthy growth," T-Mobile said.

The Communications Workers of America union isn't so bullish about T-Mobile's job-creating potential. It worries about the 30K jobs at stake with the consolidation of retail outlets and corporate roles.

The T-Mobile and Sprint hook-up is likely to turn out to be a wrong number for both consumers and employees.

As Corporate America rushes out commitments to promote racial equality, blue-chip Morgan Stanley and its CEO James Gorman are hit with a lawsuit by the bank's former head of diversity, alleging "race and gender discrimination, retaliation and unequal pay."

Marilyn Booker headed diversity from 1994 to 2010 and then ran a program to promote money management in inner city communities.

The Financial Times reports Booker's lawsuit alleges she was fired in December after pushing a plan to improve the experience of minority employees of the bank. In her suit, Booker says that only 100 of Morgan Stanley's 16K financial advisers are Black.

The bank rejects Booker's allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself in court. It claims Booker was let-go as part of a lay-off of 1,500 people

“We are steadfast in our commitment to improve the diversity of our employees and have made steady progress—while recognizing that we have further progress to make," Morgan Stanley said in a statement.

On its website, the bank features a statement from 40 Black managing directors who "are incredibly saddened and disturbed by these acts of violence and grieve with the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless men and women who have lost their lives in a similar manner over the years."

They are "proud of the firm’s leadership for speaking out on this issue, for moving quickly to support all of us by creating safe spaces for dialogue, and for investing in organizations that directly support Black Americans who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Booker's lawsuit says Morgan Stanley has thousands of managing directors worldwide, only 41 of them are Black. Morgan Stanley is right. It does have further progress to make.