Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott retiring.
Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott retiring.
Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott will retire effective Feb. 1, 2009. He will be replaced by Mike Duke, who currently heads the company’s international operations. While Wal-Mart has made constructive efforts to tackle the health care crisis and establish more environmentally-friendly business practices under Scott’s tenure, it has also worked tirelessly to erode workers’ rights. Wal-Mart Watch released this statement today:
Wal-Mart’s announcement today of Mike Duke as the new Chief Executive Officer must be viewed in the context of the recent election. It represents an opportunity for Wal-Mart to change from the low-wage, low-benefit business model to one that will be more appealing to an Obama administration.
During his eight years at Wal-Mart’s helm, Lee Scott has made life harder for Wal-Mart workers. His failure to change the company’s business practices has resulted in the largest workplace gender discrimination lawsuit in the nation’s history and numerous wage and hour lawsuits. In addition, it has diminished Wal-Mart’s reputation and hampered its ability to grow into new regional and demographic markets.
Clearly, Wal-Mart’s board believes a new face is needed to lead the company in an Obama era. The choice of Mike Duke, Vice Chairman of the International Division, shows that the board believes that the future for Wal-Mart is overseas and not here at home, further demonstrating how seriously the company regards the challenges it will face to its business model in the years to come.
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How about being more appealing to the employees?
November 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pmYeah, good luck with that…maybe Wal-Mart is angling to be the only employer left in America.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:08 pmMaybe they should give David Duke a try.
¶ AIO
November 21st, 2008 at 12:11 pmDuke has been union busting in québec for years. The guy already hates the workers…
November 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pmquebecois Says:
Duke has been union busting in québec for years. The guy already hates the workers…
The only way a union gets “busted” is if it fails to be sufficiently militant in the first place.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pmOur corporate leaders want more low wage, low benefit jobs in America.
Federal interventions into our financial sector total $4.28 trillion. Money is going to firms cutting 50,000 jobs. What government gives $10 billion to a company that dramatically decreases employment? We used to expect job growth with corporate welfare. No longer.
Walmart is role model for U.S. companies as they pursue a global lowest common denominator on pay & benefits. Your health care and retirement are at direct risk. A battle is looming in Congress and it will require a wary electorate.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pmI wonder what the employees think about this change? Or the vendors who have been getting screwed by Wal-Mart’s accounts payable practices? Or every mom-and-pop put out of business by Wal-Mart?
My guess is it’s mostly going to be “I’ll believe things are changing when I see it.”
November 21st, 2008 at 12:24 pmstateofthedivision Says:
Our corporate leaders want more low wage, low benefit jobs in America.
hence, the lackluster showing of the big three in front of congress…
they didn’t even do the homework expected before asking for a loan…
more union busting attempts…
hard to say what this scott retiring means ahead of announcing the new CEO…
November 21st, 2008 at 12:28 pmHis conscience retired years ago .
November 21st, 2008 at 12:32 pmThanks for the information, folks. I hadn’t thought about the globalist, employee arse kicker side of the appointment. If you’re preparing for war, you get the general with the right background in place. Bush has a Navy man as chair of his Joint Chiefs Chair. An attack on Iran would mostly arise from naval assets.
Duke may be in place for similar reasons. The global corporate chiefs will call on their purchased Congressmen, Repugs and Blue Dogs. It should be a heck of a fight.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:43 pmDuke may be in place for similar reasons. The global corporate chiefs will call on their purchased Congressmen, Repugs and Blue Dogs. It should be a heck of a fight.
Maybe it needs to be that way, stateofthedivision. Everyone with a connection to the first union fights is just about dead from old age now. A new generation of people with those values might be a GOOD thing, assuming any notable action gets taken.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:46 pmthe brown acid Says:
The only way a union gets “busted” is if it fails to be sufficiently militant in the first place.
Once the union had organised, and the employees had signed, Walmart would close up shop.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:08 pmWow, that’s a messed up press release.
It represents an opportunity for Wal-Mart to change from the low-wage, low-benefit business model to one that will be more appealing…
Translation: now that we’ve finally gotten rid of that a-hole, we can stop treating our employees like crap.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:23 pmThat wasn’t a press release and don’t anyone hold their breath about Wal-Mart becoming more employee friendly. Their management style is used by every big-box store and mall chain store in the US. It’s called ‘retail’. It’s extremely cut-throat between competitors and that means employees (one of the highest costs) feel it strongly.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pmSo long and don’t let the door hit ya in the arse.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:47 pmWal-Mart Watch is antagonistic to Wal-Mart, so their press release/statement clearly is biased against Wal-Mart’s business practices.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:56 pmNice to see one of the Duke boys getting a job. Can walmart go more country.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:56 pmMy mistake, that statement was released by “Wal-Mart Watch”, not Wal-Mart.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:11 pmIt must be nice. Every other year, some corporate CEO retires, skimming a golden parachute away from the company profit. Then another brave soldier emerges to run the show for a few years, only to skim some more, and so on, and so on in this ongoing pyramid scheme called capitalism. And everyone wonders why we’re in the position we’re in right now, with banks hoarding their money to take care of their own salaries, rather than making loans to jump start the economy, and auto industry CEOs fly in on private jets to beg for money because they are doing so badly. News flash; the economy sucks because everyone is terrified of losing their jobs because the pyramid (scheme) is crumbling, and selfishness is prevailing. Maybe the economy would turn itself around if a few of these great leaders could make a sacrifice. Perhaps just one of these noble leaders might say, “I’ve made enough money. My employees come first, because they are the ones who have made me what I am today.” Maybe I’m too much of an idealist to realize it will never happen.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pmWould love to peek at the details of his retirement agreement. Bet there’s enough cash there to pay for benefits for all WalMart employees for years!
Were I a shoplifter, WalMart would be my “Target”
PEACE
November 21st, 2008 at 3:02 pmSo does Mr. Scott want to start a Union…a Union made up of Union-busters and hired goons he can outsource to anyone who wants to stomp on their workers?
I’m sure Wal-Mart would hire them!
November 21st, 2008 at 3:52 pmHow much is his golden parachute?
November 21st, 2008 at 4:13 pmLee Scott? Mike Duke? These guys couldn’t be any whiter if they tried.
-AF
November 21st, 2008 at 5:50 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud