mployees, including 10 percent of the company's board of directors, are Hispanic. Diversifying the supply chain For 36 years, SBC Communications has worked with minority-, women- and disabled-veteran-owned businesses. In 2003, SBC Communications spent 15.4 percent of its total procurement, or $1.4 billion, with diverse vendors. The company notes that this figure is well above the average for corporate supplier diversity spending. Corporate giving The SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications, supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. Since 1984, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation have contributed more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations across the country. In 2004, the SBC Foundation supported more than 1,000 organizations and programs, and awarded 47 percent of its direct giving grants to groups that serve diverse clients, including African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics. Weak economy fuels layoffs Like many corporations did during the economic downturn, SBC laid off employees in an effort to reduce costs. By March 2002, SBC had cut 7,500, or about 3.5 percent, of its 216,000 workers. In February 2003, SBC announced that it would outsource about 400 positions associated with its directory publishing business to Amdocs, an Israel-based outsourcing company in which SBC held a 10 percent stake. Just a few months later, SBC was able to engender a little good will among its employees, or at least those who work in Illinois. The company had laid off 600 workers in the state in December 2002, and had made plans to let go of about another 128 VAULT LIBRARY CAREER 2005 Vault Inc. Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers SBC Communications Inc. 500 employees when fate - or perhaps that should be, the state - intervened. State lawmakers passed legislation allowing SBC to increase the rates it charges competitors who want