Verizon Ends DEI Programs

Verizon announced in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission that it would be ending diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at the company Friday.

Many companies and corporations have ended DEI policies after the stunning 2024 election, when left-wing policies pushing woke programs were rejected by the voters. Verizon was seeking a deal to absorb another telecom company, but the FCC had cited discriminatory policies to oppose the purchase.

Verizon had previously issued a yearly "Responsible Marketing Action Plan" that documented how the company was completing the DEI initiatives it had put in place.

The $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, a fiber-optic internet provider, was approved by the FCC after Verizon posted its statement ending DEI.

“Verizon recognizes that some DEI policies and practices could be associated with discrimination,” said Verizon chief legal officer Vandana Venkatesh in the filing.

Venkatesh said DEI would be excised from the company's hiring, career development, and supplier diversity policies and that the provisions would apply to Frontier as well.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr (R) praised the decision in an exclusive statement to Blaze Media.

"Corporate America went all in on discriminatory DEI policies during the Biden years. I am pleased to see that Verizon is ending its DEI policies as specified in this new FCC filing," he stated. "This is a good and important step forward — one that promotes equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and the public interest. Verizon has also newly committed to making these changes in substance, not in name only. The FCC will remain vigilant."

Verizon will absorb $10 billion of Frontier's debt while paying nearly $10 billion to purchase the company. Verizon said it would be able to deploy fiber-optic internet to 1 million homes in the U.S. on an annual basis.

Carr praised the deal, saying, “By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins. The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country.”

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democratic commissioner, released a statement opposing the development.

Gomez said Verizon was “yet another company [that] capitulates to the administration’s attempts to micromanage employment practices and impose heavy regulatory burdens on companies that require the FCC’s approval of their transactions.”

Supporters of the administration also praised the ruling.

“This is the right carrot and stick approach to wokeness. A win for Carr & Trump," said Natalie Winters, co-host of Steve Bannon's "War Room."

"Brendan Carr is racking up victories. Important to let business flourish — while also making sure they abandon illegal DEI policies," responded Allum Bokhari, managing director of the Foundation for Freedom Online.

Still others said the FCC was right to approve the deal but criticized its meddling with Verizon's HR policies.

"Extracting such commitments is mission creep and undermines the FCC’s position as an expert agency in communications matters," said Joe Kane of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank. "ITIF has consistently argued that FCC merger review should focus narrowly on the statutory basis for that review and that the FCC should not become a generalized civil rights authority. The FCC should approve pro-consumer mergers without reference to partisan social issues."