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Scandal at Saint Louis Brewery — Or Not?
May 20th, 2009 by
By: Bob McCarty
Bob McCarty Writes
In an investigative report that aired last night on NBC affiliate KSDK Channel 5, reporter Leisa Zigman tried to stoke the fires of anger and discontent that have been brewing in St. Louis ever since the 2008 purchase of Anheuser-Busch by Belgium brewer InBev. She went so far as to compare the actions of executives at Anheuser-Busch InBev to those of their corporate counterparts at AIG. It’s amazing what a local television news team will do for ratings.
What exactly did the AB InBev execs do?
In a report she said was based on a month-long investigation, Zigman raised questions about the behavior of the brewing company executives — including four vice presidents and five department leaders — responsible for eliminating thousands of U.S. jobs, slashing salaries and freezing pensions. They were “caught” partying at the company’s Lake of the Ozarks luxury retreat in southwest Missouri one day before 20 people in the company’s human resources department lost their jobs.
Zigman’s report included interviews with anonymous AB InBev employees and cited documents obtained as incriminating evidence of AB InBev executives behaving in a manner reminiscent of their counterparts at bailout recipient AIG months ago. Notably, Zigman cited sources who said the retreat cost the company a whopping $100 per person — a figure that doesn’t even register on most corporate ledgers.
