#ethics

Sacrificed his people’s best interests for Exxon’s money, then charging them for a book where he tries to explain that he’s just a poor victim like them!

I'm a people leader and I'm being told by my SVP and EVP I must hire only from the GCC. I can't help but feel like this is some what discrimatory , shouldn't I be able to hire who is best for the job? Not just only from the GCC? So I'm being forced to hire from the GCC all while managers onshore that look like they came from the GCC only hires ppl that also reflect people from the GCC. What is happening?

We're just Enron now right?

Please do your jobs and investigate this corporation. We want to see Executives held accountable. We want to see corrupt Executives in handcuffs!

Managers now just brazenly lie on the check ins and reviews so employees can be illegally fired for cause. Will Wells Fargo now just commit perjury in court when they are sued like they did on the fake accounts? Wells Fargo is the most corrupt company.

Does anyone know if these are two separate entities? I had an issue HR completely ignored. We received an email regarding the Ethics line. Has anyone got anywhere with this?

Do you think I gave a hoot about some damn ethics or security risk training due? Lol let alone a progress checkpoint? Kick rocks!

From HR training I am pretty sure you cannot threaten someone their job because they ask you for help.to remove an impediment. Asking any HR person on here, current or ex Fiserv. This seems like a violation. This is how they are doing rifs when they say not performance based.

Ask about this in your face to face sessions

Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin, are partners in a lucrative venture to build Exxon a shore base in Guyana for its massive offshore oil operation. They also face a criminal investigation and possible U.S. sanctions.

U.S. government officials repeatedly warned Exxon Mobil to avoid doing business with two mining magnates in Guyana, who face a U.S. investigation on suspicions of money laundering, dr-g trafficking and gold smuggling, according to five people with knowledge of the matter and two intelligence reports seen by Reuters.

The Texas-based oil giant ignored the advice, which was delivered during meetings in late 2021 and early 2022, and cut a deal to build a $300 million onshore logistics base with a consortium that included the two Guyanese businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin. Exxon announced the contract award in April 2022.

• https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/exxon-mobil-guyana/

"We live and work in the communities in which we serve."
​Is it just me, or does this slogan feel completely hollow lately?
​Let’s talk about the elephant in the room and what we can actually do about it. What can we realistically do to address this hypocrisy and push for transparency? How are we still letting leadership get away with the false claims included in multiple RFPs?
Winning contracts under the guise that Centene will create local jobs is a complete misrepresentation.
​The reality? That work is outsourced for pennies on the dollar, while the extra revenue gets pocketed at the top. The promise of economic impact for our local communities is completely fabricated.
​If our core values are supposed to mean something, calling out this disconnect shouldn't feel like a risk.

On the layoffs (and the insatiable appetite for chaos that produced it)

There's a particular kind of chaos that only reveals itself once you've watched an organisation lay off people with a combined few hundred years of institutional knowledge, seemingly to save on their pension contributions. It's rather like watching someone empty the fire extinguishers to make room for more decorative candles — and then congratulating themselves on the redecoration. Takis, SS, great job... clowns.

The official line, such as it is, has been a masterclass in saying nothing at considerable length. No rationale. No roadmap. Just the occasional blank stare from a senior leader whose remit has changed three times this year and whose conviction hasn't changed once. Say what you like about the people shown the door — they at least knew what they were doing. The people who did the showing seem to have skipped that module entirely, and appear to have developed a genuine taste for the chaos that followed. One round evidently wasn't enough.

One does start to wonder whether "strategy" has quietly been redefined by the leadership team as "whatever avoids an uncomfortable conversation this quarter." It's a bold approach to running a scrutinised business — rather like a ship's captain steering by vibes and hoping nobody mentions the iceberg in the town hall, then wondering aloud why morale is "a bit off."

And do stop me if you've heard this one: the same roles being made redundant are, delightfully, still live on LinkedIn. Nothing says "considered restructuring" quite like advertising for the exact job you just eliminated, three floors down, at a more agreeable salary band. It's less a talent strategy and more a magic trick, except everyone can see where the rabbit went — and increasingly, so can regulators.

I have my theories about the why. Leadership with a seemingly insatiable appetite for risk or anything so inconvenient as ethics. A marked allergy to bad news, delivered by people who've made an art form of not wanting to hear it. And, above all, a reluctance to pay for the kind of expertise that quietly prevents disasters — right up until it's gone, at which point everyone's terribly surprised when the disasters arrive precisely on schedule. Funny, that.

I'm not writing this from a place of panic. Professionally I'm in better shape than most and not remotely desperate...yet. But I've been looking for a few months now, and I've no intention of stopping. If all goes to plan, by the time the weather turns, I'll have finally stepped off what has become a very slow, very avoidable train wreck — one that, judging by the appetite upstairs, still has quite a lot of track left to run. I'd recommend the view from outside to anyone still deciding whether to stay aboard.

Surely there is someone out there who has the info that proves how investors have been misled by Proxxima

Antitrust Filing Violations: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Fairbank $637,950 for repeatedly failing to disclose large stock awards to federal antitrust authorities. The FTC noted that he had broken the law on three separate occasions (1999, 2004, and 2018), and officials publicly stated that he had "repeatedly broke the law". Capital One blamed the omissions on administrative errors by his personal law firm Very shady man

Look at yourselves in the mirror. If you are actually real human beings, how do you look at your family after a day of destroying people's lives?
You are paid to run fake interviews, lie to honest applicants, and play with people's futures just to check a compliance box. Where is your guilt?

Where is your basic human morale? If you have even a shred of decency left inside you, stop being a coward. Stand up, refuse to do this dirty work, and expose this fraud. Change before you completely lose your humanity

I have had this experience. Told the obvious truth and was reprimanded for not being a team player. They wanted to keep the lie alive so they could be promoted. Company spends a lot of money, time, and effort keeping lies alive so that the chosen ones can be promoted. We would be much more profitable if they would quit working on these lies.

https://youtube.com/shorts/WlQ3ZOgWfnU?is=0it6Te-s-v9lYnMj

There are plenty of opportunities here if you count favoritism, being used, and watching other people get ahead. Leadership can lie or retaliate and somehow never seems to face any consequences.

I am glad they did not ask me to participate in recruiting on school campuses this year.
I could not ethically tell students that a career at EM is a good choice.
I believe that nearly zero USA recruits starting now will survive the annual PIP layoffs long enough to retire.

Even very good employees can get PIP’d by a bad Supervisor, or by transferring into a tight group, or transferring out of a group that needs a mandatory PIP sacrifice, or just ending up with a boss that is intimidated because the employee knows more than him.

How can EM recruiters lie to students to convince them that EM is a career company?

Capitalism relies on open competition and consumer choice, whereas crony capitalism relies on political favoritism and government-business collusion.

Core Differences

• Capitalism (Free Market):
  • Businesses succeed by offering better products, lower prices, and real value to customers.
  • Profits and losses depend entirely on market competition.
  • Inefficient companies fail and exit the market.
• Crony Capitalism:
  • Businesses succeed through political connections, lobbying, and government favors.
  • Companies secure special subsidies, tax breaks, bailouts, or protective regulations.
  • Inefficient or failing companies survive through government intervention.

Economic Impact

• Innovation vs. Lobbying: Free markets reward innovation. Crony systems reward lobbying and political influence.
• Barriers to Entry: Capitalist systems encourage new competitors. Crony systems create high regulatory barriers that block new entrants to protect large, established players.
• Public Cost: Crony capitalism wastes public funds, distorts prices, and breeds corruption

Has anyone else noticed the ominous new Big Brother messaging on the PulsePoint telescreens? The message is to report other associates to the corporate authorities if they display any of several listed behaviors, including withdrawing and decreasing work performance. Creepy!

We have a serious problem, and it is hurting American society. My Indian manager’s manager is sitting in India, and there is a lack of work ethics throughout the management chain. There is no real work-life balance, and this management culture is simply hurting American workplace culture.

With the shift toward AI, we should no longer be relying on H-1B employees in the same way. We need to reduce unnecessary layers of management and put more resources into engineering - hiring and retaining people who can actually code, leverage AI effectively, and deliver results. We need fewer managers and more capable engineers who can build.

Didn’t take long for Humana’s new CMO to go from zero Humana stock shares to now having 2,500+ shares.

They now own him and he will do whatever immoral, unethical thing they ask of him, even if it totally goes against the hippocratic oath he promised to adhere to.

Humana's Chief Medical Officer Awarded 2,549 Restricted Stock Units Under 2026 Incentive Plan

https://kalkinemedia.com/us/news/announcements/humanas-chief-medical-officer-awarded-2549-restricted-stock-units-under-2026-incentive-plan

Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP has launched an urgent investigation into whether certain officers and directors of L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LHX) failed to manage L3Harris in an acceptable manner, breaching their fiduciary duties to L3Harris, and whether L3Harris and its shareholders have suffered damages as a result. Attorney Joseph A. Pettigrew is heading the investigation.

What shareholders need to know:

On August 17, 2026, L3Harris announced it had entered into a separation agreement with CEO Chris Kubasik, after an internal investigation into undisclosed violations of L3Harris’s code of conduct. Under the terms of the separation agreement, Kubasik was allowed to keep $80 million in stock and options. Kubasik had been forced out as President and COO of Lockheed Martin after an ethics investigation into a long-term personal relationship with a subordinate.
If you own L3Harris common stock, join our investigation on behalf of L3Harris and its shareholders by filling out the form here.

If you own L3Harris common stock and you wish to discuss this investigation—at no cost for you—please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at (844) 818-6982 or jpettigrew@scott-scott.com.

About this investigation – FAQ:

Q1: What is this ongoing investigation into L3Harris about?

A: According to our investigation, owners of L3Harris common stock have been impacted by the surprise departure of CEO Chris Kubasik following an investigation into violations of L3Harris’s code of conduct. Scott+Scott has a decades-long track record in fighting for corporate governance and monetary recoveries on behalf of companies and their shareholders.

Q2: How does this Scott+Scott investigation work?

A: Joining our investigation is easy and at no cost for you. By filling out the form here, we will let you know your rights as a L3Harris shareholder, and how the process works and what you can expect. If you currently own L3Harris stock, we look forward to hearing from you.

To learn more about Scott+Scott, our attorneys, or complex case resolution, please visit www.scott-scott.com.

So executives are ruining the lives of colleagues who they have worked alongside for years maybe even pretended to be genuine friends with for pure greed. People whose family life may be ruined, homes lost, unable to pay medical bills etc. Do any execs have personal ethics or morals? Why don't any stand up? They go to church each Sunday with their families but turn the other way. Sad people.

The late Michael N, the longtime CEO of Centene Corporation, is frequently pointed to by critics as one of the most prominent real-world figures embodying crony capitalism in health insurance. Under his nearly 30-year tenure, Neidorff grew Centene from a small $40 million regional firm into a $126 billion corporate giant.
Unlike insurance companies that relied on private, commercial markets, Neidorff’s entire business strategy relied heavily on government contracts, tax dollars, and aggressive political lobbying.
Critics argue his career illustrates crony capitalism through several distinct mechanisms:

1. Monetizing the Government Safety Net
   While classic free markets reward businesses that provide goods directly to voluntary consumers, Neidorff built Centene by targeting government-sponsored insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Centene became the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the country, meaning its revenues did not come from competing for consumer choice, but rather from securing exclusive state and federal government contracts. Critics note this created a system where profits were detached from free-market accountability.

2. A "Pay-to-Play" Political System
   To maintain and win these lucrative government contracts, Centene developed a highly sophisticated political operation. Under Neidorff, the company showered billions of dollars on political lobbying, corporate PAC contributions, and donations to both Democratic and Republican governors' associations (the very officials who oversee state Medicaid contracts). For critics of crony capitalism, this is a textbook example of a company using taxpayer-funded profits to bankroll the campaigns of the politicians who award them contracts.

3. Exploiting Government Mandates (Obamacare)
   When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was facing existential crises and other private insurers were fleeing the marketplace exchanges due to volatility, Neidorff leaned in. He positioned Centene as an "Obamacare stalwart," heavily expanding into counties abandoned by other carriers. While framed as a public service, critics viewed this as capitalizing on a government-mandated market where the state subsidized premium payments, guaranteeing a steady flow of taxpayer money into corporate coffers.

4. Overbilling and Regulatory Settlements
   A major feature of crony capitalism is that politically connected firms often survive scandals that would bankrupt standard businesses. Near the end of Neidorff’s tenure, Centene was hit with massive lawsuits alleging that it had overbilled multiple state Medicaid programs by inflating prescription dr-g costs. Centene ultimately paid out over $1 billion to settle claims of wrongdoing across more than 20 states. Despite these severe allegations of defrauding taxpayers, states continued to renew their multi-billion-dollar contracts with the company.

5. Massive Executive Pay from Public Funds
   Neidorff routinely ranked as one of the highest-paid healthcare executives in America, sometimes taking home upwards of $25 million a year. Because Centene's revenue was primarily driven by Medicaid, this meant that executive bonuses and record-breaking corporate wealth were being funded almost entirely by tax revenues meant for low-income healthcare

Nice move using AIG’s money to springboard you into your next job. Conflict of interest much?!? But you don’t care as your ethics have always been questionable

What you think about the Overlay Orgs ? .
I felt the leadership of the of global partner SE Org is one of the most fake org in Cisco?
So confusing, no accountable...just fun and lots of travel?..
Any other ?

I just started my "required" Business Practice Review training online, and just barely got through the Darren Woods opening video about ethics.
As an employee with decades of time put in, yet soon to be laid off, I nearly threw up in my mouth.
What a joke.

Forced distribution ranking is such a bad idea. Why does Exxon insist on keeping it? They are willing to follow the advice of consultants on other things why not this? Is it because they know it is corrupt but they benefit from it? Are they afraid under a modern system they wouldn’t be the high performers any longer?

I just learned that the bank pays thousands of dollars to "win" the Most Ethical Companies award that we "win" every year and brag about everywhere even on our screen savers. All the companies that "win" pay Ethicsphere for the award. Is that ethical?

The saddest part is how a few toxic individuals in each department (in addition with the few HR bad apples being the glue) create this horrible life changing experience for the employees there and it’s totally acceptable.

U.S. Bank use to represent the happiest and best part of my life. Now it’s a dark cloud permanently over me.

Just keep yourself clean and do what’s right.

Stay strong until you make it through the other side for a better whatever. Because you will get there if you understand that karma is real.

Don’t let these sad individuals change you. Don’t let them take away the light and good instilled.

Don’t join the toxicity by ignorantly and blindly hopping on the toxicity bandwagon with a hunger games mentality, feeding off of the clueless “one on of us” mentality hopefuls, where every single person who joins, ends up with regret and filth that will forever leave a stain on your karma, energy, personality, and character.

Say no to living in a world where your everyday work life is spent by pretending to like toxicity in favor of being apart of the “one of us clique mindset” thinking you are playing it safe by being a “boot li---r of toxicity instead of nobleness” or a “teachers pet” falsely believing this attitude will save you from being a target of misery since you are “liked” by the ones who are deeply involved in this toxic workplace culture…. and who sadly hate themselves deep down unknowingly or not because of the decision they made to morally compromise in their choices along the way in their careers.

The likely destination joining the toxicity band wagon to see if you are a fit to have a place among the bad apples is a fools one.

Get off or quite literally jump off of the toxic bandwagon asap.

Sooner the better, your karma will continue to dwindle the longer you stay on, and becoming costlier with each stop.

Don’t sign up for a ride that ends with a destination of finding a clown costume when you arrive at the end of this trip career trip from he-l. Voluntarily or involuntarily.

Don’t waste or spend your indispensable life energy working in a place that creates literally hellish like conditions…. Or at least don’t do it voluntarily.

At the end, you will be left holding the short end of the straw, rudely awoken by being played like fiddle from the toxicity you were aware of, but foolishly thought you would be excluded from.

If you are one of the many good people working here… stay strong and find success by not being a sale out of the morales and values we all have when starting out. The world is a cold place. And right now, so is the work culture at U.S. Bank.

You cant control most events that take place in life, such as getting stuck in this he-l hole… and trying your best just to get by and provide for your family, while at the same time, trying to not become a target here and struggle for your job security in such a toxic time and toxic work place.

Please remember this most important takeaway.

We have control on how we react to events and situations.

Don’t fall for the toxic workplace bait and sign up for a one way trip for your exclusive U.S. bank clown costume.

Don’t sign off your legacy tainted with regret thinking the finish line prize was anything but a clown suite.

Don’t morally compromise and it will somehow work out. Seriously it really will. Have a conscience.

The pendulum will always swing the other way remember that.

Right now, you could be the force tilting the toxic workplace culture pendulum to swing the other way.

The simple formula to advance yourself and change things around in every aspect in life, including dealing with the toxic workplace environment here and exceeding in it at the company by driving your own vehicle to a fulfilling destination of a clean rightfully deserved promotion or advancement in your career.. Instead of foolishly making your way to become a clown.

The simple formula is do good feel good.

Believe in the good of other people.

Hold onto to being a good person knowing that even the smallest of kind acts can make a ground breaking difference in the day of your peers.

Make sure to be real with yourself. Seriously, don’t be a fool lying to yourself about how great of a person you truly are, but in reality you know that clown suit is waiting for you.

Be a good person with good intentions to advance yourself in life….. Advancment in the career latter….. or any kind of initiative in life.

This is proven to work and not a fairy tale or hippy loving vibes.

Plenty of people have reached their rightfully deserved destinations of happiness with this simple understanding of karma.

You will make it through working in such a toxic work environment at U.S. bank and ultimately it will turn out to be a win somehow someway.

Hopefully the ones who don’t have an acquired clown suit in their closet or ones who are not waiting for their very own, can speak up and spread basic human decency, dignity, and respect over the toxic culture plaguing US bank today.

Ending with a note of realism -

Sometimes you can’t soley rely on believing in the good of others.

Sometimes action is required to swing the pendulum back to the correct side.

You have to stand up for yourself and others.

Get a backbone and create an online account using the EEOC public portal and file a complaint if justified.

If you have documented proof of the easily recognizable patterns HR and management make to target and wrongfully treat you then file a complaint with the EEOC.

It is incredibly easy to create an online login in the EEOC portal and file the complaint.

Don’t fear retaliation. I know there are bad apples employed here who are such a liability to the bank because of how clueless they are when it comes down to it.

These bad apples have gone so long without being checked, that they lose touch with reality of how and what they are legally obliged to perform their role at us bank.

If you are a target, know of other people being targeted, you have documented patterns of bad apples, etc……please check and remind these bad apples because the rot is just to dam strong.

It’s really the only tool we have that can make a difference here. Dont be afraid to use it.

Start with googling “EEOC public portal login” and it’s self explanatory from this point.

Record every meeting and conversation. To make it easier when dealing with discrimination, harassment, stealing work/ideas and false accusations. Documenting interactions protects me and ensures there’s an accurate record of what was actually said. Texas is a one‑party consent state, so you are allowed to record as long as you are part of the conversation. Simply start the recording on your phone.

Shane keller wasnt relevant when he was forced to retire from UP years ago. Now he's trying real hard to get attention with a merger support article in Aug 25 Railway Age article. In his brilliant words, not mine, his guilt states hes not paid to support the merger, yet fair to say if he spent 30+ years at UP hes still a huge shareholder and benefiting quite handsomely from stocks rise from 220 to $310. Pretty sure Kellers getting paid for such a ridiculous article. STB needs to review this. Keller is chairman at Compass and likely wants to win some UP business....different company now and one that stands to benefit greatly, by supporting UP. An inside job even while on the outside. What a disgrace...

I checked the Q2 2026 NAV, and for those of us impacted by the May RIF, it's not being applied to calculate share payouts at all. It looks like nothing is being paid out post Q1. If that's accurate, years of earned compensation is just... not being paid.

I want to call out something I think is genuinely unethical about how Fidelity is handling this. Over the past several years, instead of raising base compensation, Fidelity leaned on share awards as the reward for performance. Grants from 2-3 years back that were supposed to vest and pay out over time. I put in the work to earn those.

And here's the part that really gets me: there's a clause that says you have to be actively employed on Dec 31 of a given year for those shares to pay out. Fine, maybe that makes some sense if someone quits or is fired for cause. But when the company eliminates your role — not for performance, not for anything you did — and then uses that same clause to withhold pay for work you already did years ago, that's not a "policy," that's a loophole to avoid paying people what they earned.

Fidelity talks a lot about ethics. It's in their marketing, their values statements, all of it. But quietly using a technicality to avoid paying out shares that employees earned through actual performance, right after eliminating their jobs through no fault of their own, is the opposite of that. You can't claim to value your people's hard work and then strip the payout the moment it's inconvenient for you.

Fidelity needs to actually listen and do the right thing here. Pay people what they earned through years of hard work, instead of swiping it away on a technicality the moment it's convenient.

Curious what others think. Is anyone else pushing back on this, or looking into next steps?

"Shady business practices like creating a subsidiary company which is 95% subcontractors to avoid paying unionized employees and sidestepping liability."

is this the new secret acquisition?

• KPMG Australia is cutting nearly 400 jobs, affecting about 5% of its workforce, including 27 partners.
• Most job losses will fall within the firm's consulting and business services operations.
• The restructuring follows a whistleblower scandal involving allegations that confidential client information was misused by KPMG partners to help win new business.
• The controversy has damaged KPMG Australia's reputation and client trust and contributed to the loss of government contracts and increased regulatory scrutiny.
• KPMG Australia has also experienced a leadership shakeup, with senior executives departing while investigations into governance, ethics, and the whistleblower matter continue.
• Financial pressures are mounting: KPMG Australia's revenue reportedly fell around 1% in the financial year ending in June, while demand for some consulting and business-services roles weakened.
• KPMG plans to simplify its organizational structure, including changes to advisory and dealmaking operations, as part of a broader effort to rebuild the firm and improve efficiency.
• The firm says affected employees will receive practical and well-being support, but it has not ruled out further job cuts as internal and external reviews continue.
• The Australian cuts follow other major KPMG reductions, including roughly 400 US advisory jobs and hundreds of positions in the UK during the year.
• KPMG's restructuring reflects a broader global layoff trend, with companies across consulting and technology cutting staff because of restructuring, tougher business conditions, AI-driven changes, and—in KPMG Australia's case—the financial consequences of reputational damage.

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmrGMoS5pBI

Heed my warning. To those in Audit Services, more layoffs and restructuring are coming.

Want to know why you were rewarded with gifts for getting audits done as quickly as possible last year? Want to know why you are conducting quick and easy testing under the guise of taking a "risk based approach"? Want to know why you were harassed (or dare I say threatened) to come in under hours and to falsify your time sheets if necessary? Want to know why they repeatedly told you that falsifying your time wouldn't come back to haunt you because no one is looking at utilization? Want to know why they moved several audits to an unheard of FOUR year cycle? It's not because they are trying to do the right thing. It's not because they are trying to protect our members. It's because leadership was told to make a case to lessen the amount of employees needed.

The newly announced operating model means there are still too many Audit Managers and staff. Trust me, they aren't done yet.

Why is the TAO leader (P. M.) threatening an employee about his job security in front of hundreds of employees during her talk in Bengaluru? Why has the Board of Directors and CEO not taken any serious action? Are leaders at that level not accountable for their words and actions? What happened to Nokia being an Ethical Company? How do you think the employee who was being threatened felt after being embarrassed in front of hundreds of employees? Does she think this is a joking matter? What type of damage does this do to Nokia (brand, investors, customers, future contracts (gov't and commercial), employees, etc)? Should leadership be just as ACCOUNTABLE as any other employee?

As a CFP is it my fiduciary obligation to recommend clients pay .65 vs 1.35? Nice to know exactly what full service advice costs the GPs.

Caucasian hunters, resume collectors, scam baiters, or whatever the current terms are.

Congratulations Nike you have leaders who are allowing scam agencies into your mix collecting US citizen resumes to be legal when they only hire Indians.

Source below…
—-
This is Jim McNerney.

To me, he is symbolic of a much broader change that occurred in the American economy starting after 1980.

Companies that had historically been run by engineers, operators, and people who spent their careers working their way up through the organization increasingly began to be run by MBA and finance-oriented executives brought in from the outside.

Boeing is one of the best examples.

Boeing was once considered one of the great American companies. One reporter described it as almost less of a conventional business than an association of engineers devoted to building extraordinary flying machines.

In a sense, almost like a co-op of engineers.

Then, in 2005, Boeing hired Jim McNerney as CEO.

Under McNerney, Boeing increasingly emphasized cost reduction and financial performance.

Engineering labor costs were cut. Significant portions of engineering and manufacturing work were outsourced. The intention was to save money, but critics have argued that outsourcing ultimately created additional costs through coordination problems, repairs, redesigns, and rework.

At the same time, Boeing increasingly returned billions of dollars to shareholders through stock buybacks.

When a company generates large amounts of cash, it has choices.

It can:

• invest in research and development
• invest in new products and manufacturing capacity
• pay employees more
• build financial reserves
• acquire other businesses
• return money to shareholders through dividends or stock buybacks

The criticism of Boeing is that it increasingly chose the last option.

And that matters.

Every dollar devoted to financial engineering is a dollar that cannot simultaneously be invested in engineering, employees, manufacturing capability, or R&D.

Meanwhile, employees were raising concerns about the quality of Boeing’s products and engineering processes.

Some engineers and employees who raised concerns said they faced retaliation, harassment, or termination. Some subsequently filed whistleblower complaints with the FAA.

Years later, the Boeing whistleblower story became even darker and more controversial when two prominent whistleblowers died, fueling intense public discussion around the company and its safety culture.

Then the airplanes started crashing.

In 2018 and 2019, two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed, ki-ling hundreds of people.

What is particularly striking is what happened financially.

After the first crash, Boeing’s stock would still reach an all-time high before the second crash.

Think about that.

A company could be experiencing an emerging engineering and safety catastrophe while the financial markets were simultaneously signaling extraordinary success.

Around the same period, economist Daron Acemoglu and his co-authors studied what happens when companies hire managers with business-oriented backgrounds.

One of their important findings was that worker pay tends to decline after these managers take control.

And critically, those wage reductions were not necessarily accompanied by corresponding improvements in productivity, output, investment, or efficiency.

In other words, the company was not always becoming fundamentally better.

It was becoming better at transferring value.

Less to workers.

More to executives and shareholders.

Research like this suggests that changes in corporate management philosophy may explain a meaningful portion of the rise in American income inequality.

There are several possible policy responses.

Stronger antitrust enforcement.

Greater union power.

More competition.

But another idea deserves more discussion: stakeholder capitalism.

One proposal already introduced in Congress is the Accountable Capitalism Act.

Among other reforms, it would require very large corporations to give employees representation on their boards, with workers electing 40% of directors.

The principle is simple.

If employees help create the long-term value of a company, they should have some representation in determining how that company is governed.

That changes the incentives.

Instead of corporate leadership being overwhelmingly focused on quarterly earnings, stock prices, executive compensation, and financial extraction, employees would have a formal voice representing engineering capability, institutional knowledge, product quality, long-term investment, and the durability of the company itself.

Boeing is therefore about more than Boeing.

It represents a much larger question about American capitalism:

What happens when companies stop being run primarily by people obsessed with making the product better and start being run primarily by people obsessed with making the financial metrics better?

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN88tkwsX/