Some companies announce worker bonuses after US tax cut

AT&T and Boeing were among the large US companies that announced new spending on their workers Wednesday after Congress approved a sweeping US tax cut.

AT&T plans to give $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 workers and will issue the checks over the holidays if President Donald Trump signs the bill before Christmas.

The company also said it plans to invest an additional $1 billion in 2018 due to the bill.

"This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs," AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson said.

"In fact, we will increase our US investment and pay a special bonus to our US employees."

The handful of announcements came after the House of Representatives approved the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul, sending the measure to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

Democrats criticized the bill as a budget-busting sop that mostly benefits the very wealthy, while Republicans argued it would boost economic growth.

Boeing announced $300 million in additional spending that includes funds for workforce training and to upgrade facilities to the "workplace for the future."

"We applaud and thank Congress and the administration for their leadership in seizing this opportunity to unleash economic energy in the United States," Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said.

"It's the single-most important thing we can do to drive innovation, support quality jobs and accelerate capital investment in our country."

Fifth Third Bancorp said it would boost its minimum wage for all employees to $15 an hour and distribute a one-time bonus of $1,000 to more than 13,500 employees.

Still, many analysts and economists have expressed skepticism the tax bill will boost growth as much as promised.

The tax cut "will improve corporate profits and that in turn will increase share buybacks and dividends more than it actually increases economic activity," said Karl Haeling, portfolio manager at LBBW Asset Management.

"Big companies have a lot of money right now," he said. "If they needed to build a big plant they would not have wait for it before the tax reform. I'm still skeptical that it really does that much."