Marketing and Mortality: How Nestlé’s Fake Experts in Africa Led to Infant Deaths

March 16, 2026March 16, 2026 admin Bad Companies

The intersection of corporate profit and public health has few starker examples than Nestlé's decades-long marketing of infant formula in Africa. From the 1970s to present-day controversies, the Swiss multinational has employed deceptive practices — including fake experts and misleading health claims — that have contributed to hundreds of thousands of infant deaths.

This tragic history, from the "milk nurses" of the past to modern double standards in product formulation, offers critical lessons about the dangers of allowing marketing to masquerade as medicine.

Boardroom Machiavelli: The Unspoken Corporate Playbook

January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 admin Bad Companies, Leadership

In the hallowed halls of modern corporations, between glossy sustainability reports and corporate mission statements, a colder, older philosophy often pulses through strategic decisions. Its source is a 16th-century Italian diplomat whose name became synonymous with cunning statecraft: Niccolò Machiavelli.

To understand his enduring influence, one must know his context. Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a keen observer of political chaos. Living in a fractured Italy dominated by warring city-states, foreign invasions, and corrupt popes, he witnessed power in its rawest form. After a career serving the Florentine Republic, he was exiled when the Medici family returned to power. It was in this forced retirement that he wrote Il Principe (The Prince) in 1513. Far from a dry theory, the book was a pragmatic, almost clinical manual for a new ruler on how to acquire and maintain power in a dangerous, unstable world. He famously separated political efficacy from religious or personal morality, arguing that what makes a leader successful is not always what makes them good.

Rockstar Games Layoffs to Be Investigated by UK Parliament Over Union-Busting Claims

December 14, 2025December 22, 2025 admin Bad Companies, Unfair Dismissal, Unions

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said Parliament will investigate union-busting allegations against Rockstar Games, following the studio's dismissal of 31 Grand Theft Auto 6 developers in October.

The issue was raised in Parliament on December 10 by local MP, Chris Murray. He informed the Prime Minister: "The video games company Rockstar in my constituency last month fired 31 employees without providing evidence or union representation. The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain] IWGB alleges union busting."

Holland & Barrett Named and Shamed for National Minimum Wage Underpayments

November 1, 2025November 22, 2025 admin Bad Companies

Holland & Barrett is one of the latest major high street retailers to be named by the UK government for failing to pay its staff the National Minimum Wage. The company was listed among nearly 500 employers who have been fined a total of over £10 million for similar breaches.

The list, published by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), revealed that Holland & Barrett underpaid more than 2,551 workers a total of over £153,000. They were 9th in the list of worst offenders. The government's crackdown has ensured that 42,000 workers nationwide were repaid more than £6 million.

Amazon Workers Fight Back: The Human Cost of Union Busting in Coventry

May 9, 2025November 6, 2025 admin Unions, Bad Companies

A landmark legal case against Amazon’s union-busting tactics in the UK began this week, powered by the stories of workers like Ceferina Floresca. After suffering a heart attack while working at the Coventry warehouse, Ceferina returned to work to find a “letter of concern” from Amazon. She soon discovered the company’s concern was not for her health, but a warning about her absence during recovery.

This is the human face of the fight for workers’ rights.

Ceferina’s experience is a key reason why 878 Amazon workers in Coventry, supported by the GMB union, have launched the first British legal challenge against Amazon’s aggressive anti-union tactics. They allege the tech giant used a campaign of intimidation and dirty tricks to illegally sway a critical union recognition vote, which Amazon narrowly won by just 15 votes.