Why Wal-Mart Spins

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In August 2004, the consulting firm McKinsey & Company told Wal-Mart, "The public believes [Wal-Mart] treats its employees poorly and is a negative force in communities." The report suggests steps for "managing change," including to "spread messages that it cares for employees, build local relationships, increase local philanthropy." McKinsey also helped prepare a memo, leaked to the New York Times last week, that proposed "numerous ways to hold down spending on health care and other benefits," in part by "discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart." With the new Robert Greenwald documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" about to be released, Wal-Mart's PR firm, Edelman, "sent reporters a press kit last week attacking claims made in the film's trailer, along with negative reviews of Greenwald's previous work. Wal-Mart is also promoting a competing documentary about the company, directed by Ron Galloway, titled 'Why Wal-Mart Works & Why That Drives Some People Crazy.'"