Labor Federation Responds to Whitmans Latest TV Ad

Friday, August 06, 2010

California - What Meg Whitman doesn’t say in her new warm and fuzzy ad speaks volumes. The truth is, her tenure at eBay was riddled with failure. Whitman likes to talk about the jobs she created at the company but never mentions that under her leadership, nearly 40% of the company’s jobs were overseas. She presided over a 50% decline in the company’s stock during her final years as CEO and jacked up fees on US customers so she could expand the company’s presence in China. Whitman was even sued by her own shareholders at eBay for now-illegal insider deals she made while sitting on the board of directors at disgraced banking giant Goldman Sachs. In 2008, the company slashed nearly 10% of its workforce, cutting the jobs of more than 1,000 workers. Despite her record of failure, Whitman made more than $500 million at eBay.

California voters understand failure when they see it. The Whitman economic philosophy is simple: if it’s good for Wall Street and big corporations, it must be good for everyone. The millions of Californians who lost their jobs and their homes because of the economic collapse Wall Street created know exactly how dangerous that philosophy is. If Whitman were to run California like eBay, Californians could expect more outsourcing, job cutting and lavish perks for CEOs.

Her latest ad does nothing to answer the growing concerns voters have over her corporate background and Wall Street agenda. No amount of money spent on slick ads can convince voters that the CEO way is the right way. It’s time for Whitman to come clean about her corporate past and history of outsourcing and eliminating jobs.

From: Steve Smith, Communications Director, California Labor Federation