I disagree with the Lager Heads when they say common citizens were not upset about the AIG bonuses and trips. Everyone I know was pretty angry about it. Good article.

No, A-B Inbev is not AIG. But the group decided to go to Lake of the Ozarks to PLAN MORE LAYOFFS! And seeing the people in the video, I don’t think anyone from A-B is too surprised at their actions. You do have to laugh at the verbal gymnastics - a yacht becomes a “watercraft”, layoffs are “change” - that these people resort to.

Most people I knew were EXTREMELY UPSET with the AIG excesses and bonuses paid. And it wasn’t only AIG, but other financial institutions, such as Citibank. Citibank took taxpayer money but then went forward with funding the $400 million new stadium for the Mets. that should have been stopped in its tracks. Obama administration said, oh well, it’s about contracts etc. nothing we can do and let them pay the $400M. However, when it came to Chrysler secured bondholders, who, had superior contractual rights over the UAW, the Obama administration looked the other way and chastised the secured bondholders for wanting what was rightfully theirs. What a sham our governments have become over the last decade. They trample over our rights and we just take it.

I was extremely upset over the AIG bonuses. It seems a perversion of justice to financially reward those who ran a company into the ground. The much-criticized retreat, however, was designed to reward the best salespeople - the ones who kept the company running. This is pretty standard practice at a lot of large financial organizations. Edward Jones does the same thing to reward top brokers. Irregardless of how you feel about AIG, KSDK’s comparison of A-B to AIG was ridiculous. Based on what I saw, I wouldn’t describe that outing as extravagant even by InBev’s standards. And as far as we know, Brito did not take a bonus last year because he missed his targets.

I don’t put much stock in what Julie Niemann says. She is the same person who when AB was in the process of being overtaken by Inbev sat in her leather chair each night on the evening news and with A GLEAM IN HER EYE AND SMILE ON HER FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! gladly spoke of the thousands of people who would lose their jobs at AB once the takeover happened. I only hope she was sitting on a ton of AB stock to be so happy over such heartache.

As far as the story, this is still America (maybe not for long) and they are not bound by any gov’t strings so they could spend their money as they see fit.

Dear lager heads, thanks as always for the good comments. We invite disagreement on the AIG outrage thing. We certainly can only speak for our personal impressions, which we tried to outline clearly. But that is not the whole story. Perhaps there were genuinely outraged people out there. Perhaps you were among them. If so, that is legitimate. Our point was that the outrage (especially the kind emanating from Washington) struck us as hollow, drummed up for the cameras or sound bites. That being said, we were pretty amazed that the AIG folks would continue with their free-spending ways - the audacity makes the head spin. But we firmly believe “outrage,” if tapped too often, becomes meaningless. We want stuff to be real.

Jeremiah – a great perspective on KSDK’s report. While I agree the report was over-hyped, I appreciate all local news regarding A-B Inbev. I’m still hoping for a more in-depth report of the influence Inbev had on the ERP package offered prior to the official buyout.

What many comments to the previous article seemed to miss is the total lack of seriousness and compassion for those loyal employees who were losing their jobs while the ‘people’ department partied. The top brass at AIG and those at A-B Inbev are comparable in that they feel entitled to special treatment and excessive rewards while they step all over the middle class of America.

Management of A-B Inbev certainly has NOT shown respect for current and former A-B employees by their actions. And the hypocrisy they display only adds salt to the wounds of those of us who were, and continue to be, directly and negatively affected by the buyout. Perhaps $1400 would not save a job, but the $2.2 BILLION in retention bonuses given the top 360 for making those cuts could have.

I did not talk to one person that wasn’t disgusted at the AIG excesses. Other than that, good article.

When I saw that last night, it looked as if they were getting into party mode. I suppose it’s too early for Party Cove?

Channel 5 hasn’t been the same since Bob Richards left. He was the best weatherman in St. Louis. Now we have that big sissy Dave Murray, who freaks out if we get a drizzle and causes a panic. He is bad for the local economy. How many events have been canceled out of the fear created by Murray’s forecasts? My softball game was canceled last Wednesday because of a bogus weather forecast.

Is it just me, or does Leisa Zigman come off as a simpleton? She obviously doesn’t understand how business gets done. This is between A-B InBev and their shareholders. They haven’t taken any tax dollars.

Where was this reporting by Zigman when the Stimulus Bill was passed by Congress and signed by Obama? The stimulus bill included $335 million for condoms paid with TAXPAYER MONEY. That’s outrageous.

Hey Dave-
Dave Murray is on channel 2. Last Wednesday, I think that’s when we where supposed to get all the tornadoes and 9 inch hail. You’re right, we got nothing. What about Cindy Pressler with that fake smile? Sorry, I’m off topic. Cheers to party on the lake with AB-OutBev!

Great Job KSDK and Leisa for showing the kind of behavior that has brought so many great companies to the point of failure or buy-out. This group of “HR Professionals” is required by law and by profession to perform their duties in a manner which is beyond reproach. This is the group that current and past employees rely on for support and help during difficult times. Leaders in these positions must be honest and trustworthy. They should set the example for professionalism, good behavior and fair treatment of others in the company.

Unfortunatley, this story points out that this group may not be living up to their professional obligations. Based on reader comments, they have dissapointed the people who made A-B the great company it was. They appear to have forgotten the most important business commandment, “Companies are made Great by their People”. They appear to be focused on their own needs.

That’s how corporate greed works, regardless of the amount, regardless of who has funded your greed. Senior Leaders taking care of themselves at the expense of everyone else is CORPORATE GREED.

If Brickey and his counterparts are willing to operate under a different set of rules, how far might they have taken that philosophy? Have they been at it so long that they have lost sight of where the line is? This group is responsible for extremely sensitive processes in the company, many of them personally manage significant amounts of company dollars and highly sensitive information. Their decisions impact peoples lives and futures. They recommend pay, promotions, terminations, testify in court, testify in labor arbitrations, testify in employment hearings, order security investigatios, hand out perks., etc. If they are so willing to behave inappropriately in this situation, what are the chances they have done so in other, more material situations?

I bet that is where this story is headed. Leisa is a sharp reporter. I’ll bet last night was just a pre-cursor to much more serious information. To answer my earlier question, we’ll have to see if there are any un-truths in the A-B gangs story. If the HR Group can’t even tell the truth, we’ll know soon enough. John Gillies will need to sharpen his pencil for this one.

To the points raised by better4u -
Citibank did not fund the $400 million for Citi Field. Citigroup will pay $20 million over 20 years for the naming rights. I know this because I work for Citigroup.
Most of the people I know were upset with the AIG bonuses, but they were contractual obligations due to those employees. Not fair? Yes. Illegal? No.
Finally, what A-B senior mgmt did is indefensible. They are guilty of being STOOPID. Did they not think that they are now targets for reporters looking for scoops like Ms. Zigman?? What people should be more upset about is A-B delaying payments to all its vendors, big and small, by 120 days. Now that is unethical and just mean-spirited. That act of cash-flow shenanigans will do more to hurt small businesses in St Louis than 100 boondogle trips to the lake!

I’m no fan of the new AB and what is going on over there. Nor am I a fan of the “I” team and lame news gimmicks like it. The story is not news because junkets by marketing people are business as usual regardless of economic conditions. By the same token, I realize that overblown stories and “public advocate” reporters are a staple on most television news teams. As far as AIG goes, I wasn’t as outraged as I was disgusted. I can’t identify with people like that, but you don’t get to that level of income and priviledge without a huge ego and sense of entitlement.

The truth is good executives do need to receive more perks than the middle class employees or they will go to work elsewhere. I too feel outrage at the AIG bonuses, but good executives deserve good compensation and perks- they have worked hard in their careers and drive the company into profitability. It is subjective as to what is considered excessive, and since most of us aren’t receiving many perks these days, this is what KSDK is playing upon.

folks, did you really buy into that it only cost$100.00 per person? do you really think that this was the only little junket? look i bet that with what was not reported that this is only the tip of the iceburg. do i care about a-b jobs….. i care for the people not the jobs. i do believe that 80% of whats left here now was planned and will be gone in 3 to 5 years regardless. oh sure they will blame this negitive stuff for the job lost, but that would be so bogus. look a lot of non performers are left. they keep searching for the underlings to produce the magic so they can present THERE new ideas.
if anythying this negitivity has keep the brito brotherhood at bay.

Brickey’s a clown. He pales in comparison to Tim Farrell — who worked very hard over the years to secure some best-in-class employee benefits (he is also responsible for stipulating in the takeover that InBev honor the A-B policy for severance at least through the end of 2009…thousands of former A-B employees have Farrell to thank; the remaining A-B employees have Brickey to curse in the months ahead). I’d be surprised if Brickey lasts another 6 months…let alone 6 weeks. Brrrrito and Peacock really have their hands full with this new VP of People setting the tone for their “best beer company / better world.”

Never woulda been an expose if it will still an American company. Way to root out them foreigners tryin to steal our jobs and erode our culture, KSDK. Death to the…Belgians!

Nice work, Jeremiah. We need more of media reporting on media, and I’m not talking about the Journalism Review, which most people have never heard of. Nobody is talking about how TV photographers are being eliminated and reporters are allowed to do the “backpack” journalism thing.

As for the KSDK story… if you call that journalism, you took different classes than I took. Leiza and KSDK should be embarrassed at the levels to which they stoup.

It’s Sweeps month! “The sky is falling; the sky is falling. Tonight, only on News Channel 5.”

Class warfare plain and simple. Get over it. Bigwigs ride on boats. The little guys get laid off. As the world turns. Why do we always seem to villanize what we supposedly aspire to be? Namely rich.

Amazing………envy sells during sweeps month, and this is nothing more than more vintage NBC crap. Do anything they can to point the heat away from the real villans, those who are really responsible for what wrong with this Country……perpetrators of the largest excesses in history…………Congress……..specifically a Democratic run Congress for the last 6 years. Folks, they approved, (In ADVANCE) of what you are so angry about at AIG. The anger is justified, just mis-directed

I serously doubt the $100 per person quote. It probably cost at least that just to fill that boat up with gas. The trip, regardless (irregardless is not a word!) of cost was uncalled for, given their current stance on cutting costs (and people). Whatever the trip cost, it likely wasn’t enough to save even 1 job except for maybe a part time receptionist, but it’s just plain insensitive to current and former employees that aren’t sure if they’ll be able to make their next mortgage payment. Yes, AB-I is allowed to spend their money as they see fit, but when they make statements like “We remain firmly committed to treating all current and former employees with respect and dignity” they are full of you know what. Tell me how blowing money (however much) on an unnecessary trip is respectful to your former employees that you cut because of costs?

If they wanted the meetings off-site, there’s no reason they couldn’t have held the meetings their empty Sunset Hills offices.

$170 billion taxpayer money to AIG was no big deal? It was to me, Jeremiah! The huge bonuses no big deal? It was to me! Some people have become so desensitized to peripheral events, its no wonder this country is going down the toilet. The bigger story here is the $45,000,000,000 gov’t bailout money Bank of America received and the $25,000,000,000 JP Morgan received in total. The deal for AB-InBev went through not long after tax money was funneled to these banks. Thousands of good paying American jobs lost because billions of dollars of taxpayer money funneled towards the Anheuser Busch purchase. Our taxes given away to benefit a foreign company that in turn slashes thousands of American jobs. Totally sickening!! Has Bank of America or JPM paid one dime of this bailout back to the gov’t and the taxpayers. 0$ last time I heard. Disgusting!

It appears many of the posters are missing the point in Leisa’s well-presented expose. I believe the premise here was to illustrate the lack of professionalism, integrity, and ethics inherent in brito’s inept management team. The AIG was a loose analogy comparing the double standards and irresponsible behavior by greedy corporate idiots in both companies. For all of Peacock’s flunkys ripping on Leisa, the reality is she is much more attractive than 95% of these buttboy’s wives and girlfriends, and certainly well ahead of Prickey’s harem on the boat.
I’m still laughing at this stud-in-his-own mind hugging and kissing these harlots on camera. What a stroke.

Wow! Missouri business people having a business meeting in Missouri! Great reporting KSDK. Good-by KSDK, hello Fox 2 News.

Give me some true investigative reporting KSDK, like what really happened to Deanne Lane.

Big deal, companies hire people and companies fire people. They only have to answer to the shareholders. They went to the lake of the ozarks not the french riviera. Take away all perks and these folks will leave for other companies leaving AB with sub-par white collar employees… If I’m Brito watching this crap I’d shut down the brewery and move the north american HQ to new york where I’m not under the microscope. Would that make yall happy?

This so-called “investigative report” is typical of the shallow, exploitative fluff that TV stations load into their newscasts during ratings measurement periods (which, not coincidentally, mid-May is squarely within.) One would have expected from the hype that preceded its airing that the venue was the Caribbean, Las Vegas, or a pricey resort in Arizona.

One would be hard pressed to imagine an event at any Lake of the Ozarks venue being profligate unless it happened to include “adult entertainment.” If this event had involved local government officials, Elliott Davis probably would not have pursued it. If it had been proposed to convicted abusers of public funds such as former Riverview Gardens School District Superintendent Henry Williams, they probably would have considered it too cheap and puny to be worthy of spending time at it.

If none of the above had interest in such an event, and this forum’s very own Sid didn’t see reason to comment on it as only he can, there’s nothing to it. In this case, there was very much “nothing to it.” It was a piece that (Mizzou J-school owned and staffed) KOMU would, at least should, have been ashamed to run, and probably was beneath what one would expect from the in-house “TV station” of your local high school.

This is yet another example of why people no longer choose to pay attention to TV newscasts and other so-called “journalistic outlets.” These outlets no longer have credibility, and people are intelligent enough to see that.

This isn’t news, it’s a combination of propaganda and exploitation of basic human weaknesses. In this case the weakness is envy. In other cases, the weakness is voyeurism or a susceptibility to titillation. In all those cases, the report is not meant to inform, sometimes not even meant to entertain, merely to exploit. It’s wrong on a number of levels, and it certainly isn’t journalism.

When people want news, they will seek it at sources they consider credible, and not from a once glamorous talking head who did puff pieces for years and, now that she is approaching middle age, has been rebranded a so-called “investigative journalist.” Nor, going forward, will they seek it from the station that did the rebranding, commissioned the feature, and attempted to defend it after its airing.

I know someone who works at the brewery who said that “Joe” the anonymous worker in the KSDK piece got fired today. Anyone know whether that’s true or not?

I laughed all night at this excuse for journalism. Honestly, I cannot even comprehend the question being posed by Lager Heads because I keep harkening back to the “report” with the hidden camera, “we’ve been working for a month on this,” the disguised employee, I could go on. I only wish it was a nightly series.

The fuel cost alone to run a 51 foot boat would total $ 350 to 500. maybe more.Maybe they passed the hat.

Let the shareholders decide, everybody wants to go after the companies. AB can lay off however they feel necessary and give managers special perks.

Management is salary puts in more hours and cares a heck of alot more than most of the hourly employees. So if they want to take them out for a lavish weekend or whatever then that’s their business.

But if it’s on the tax payer dime it’s a different story. People should be very upset with AIG and Chrysler.

Who is KSDK to criticize how AB does business, or what the corporate big heads do at the lake?

Gee John, are you an AB exec or on Jeff Co. crack? There’s a lot of people, current AB employees, who want to know about the luxuries of a company that supposedly is supposed to now be worker-unfriendly penny pinchers

From the sound of it, this outing to the lake was a lot more frugal than it had been in years past. While I believe the numbers reported by AB are probably the result of creative accounting (Oh, we didn’t tell you about the $xxxx that we moved from the Hr accounts to the Ozark property accounts because that money never left the company…)

I, too, actually was outraged at the AIG bonus / trip stories

The analogy between this outing the the AIG stories simply don’t hold water (no pun intended). AB-InBev, for all of their faults, did not take billions from the US taxpayers.

This is a weak fluff piece that pretends to be a hard-hitting news piece during sweeps month. If they can’t come up with better stories than that, they need new reporters.

This is a non story. Hey Lisa Z., why not investigate the 3 Brazillanaires that own the company and how exactly did they make their zillions of pesos.

JMcW…nice to have all the Lager Heads motivated again. We had too much soft & boring fodder for the past two weeks and now we have found a topic, In-Ept Bev related, that brings everybody back. Kinda like some fiber after a week of broth. This is great stuff and a sure traffic builder. Not sure what the record here at LH is for Most Number of Comments but I bet we are close. Enough marketing inhalation of our own exhaust… Brickey is a joke and true character is in full display within KSDK’s camera. Couldn’t happen to a man with thinner integrity and weaker character. Brickey in charge of People is like having a crack addit in charge of a Walgreens. The Aramus colone must have been on full-strength as he wanted to share his corporate gene pool with all the A-B ladies…the Love Boat Sails should have been the real story. This isn’t a real story but it is great news and much more engaging to follow than a quarterly earnings report as this is at least is true and actually happened. Better create another scandal next week to keep LH traffic and hits up!

Maybe it’s me but has InBev (AB sold out) asked for one dollar of federal money? If not, then although stupid in this economic downfall, they can bask in the sun all they want. Drink themselves into a coma fine with me. That’s a privately held company and this is America. But the line is drawn at asking in any way for my money. This is simply KSDK ambulance chasing lame stories, maybe they hired KMOV’s folks recently that’s a story they would publish. I sincerely hope the employee that spilled his guts don’t find himself identified and lose his job over this.

whatisthisabout….. The story is about a company crapping on employees in the name of cutting costs, and then taking executives out for a cruise on their million dollar boat. It’s disrespectful and offensive to those that work there, and those that have recently worked there.

Last time I checked, in a capitalist economy, a company can do whatever it wants with its money. If you don’t like it, or are “outraged” then stop buying the product/service or move to China. This backlash is nothing more than class warfare. You can call it whatever you want but it’s simply a case of the haves and the have-nots.

Jeremiah, great article. The KSDK video makes the A-B execs look shady to say the least, but as you acknowledge it’s a bit sensational. Regarding the reactions to AIG’s excesses, I’m with you that the overuse of political/corporate outrage sends the message it is not genuine. Thanks for keeping it real.

Thanks, HalBal225. We certainly try to keep it real, although sometimes we perhaps keep it TOO real on Lager Heads. But you said it better than we did: overuse does cheapen things like “outrage.” We don’t like when that happens.

Thanks also to Terri, better4u, cjstl, stg3th and others who took issue with our analysis. We like to hear from you if you think we’re off base.

Butt-Boy Dave and Jim “Grab-Asser” Prickey will have a hard time topping this latest comedy act. Although, I have no doubt they will bumble into some other shenanigan soon and then try to lie their way out of it. Can’t wait for these two buffoons to send out another internal memo so I can post it here. The Lagerheads need to see some of the BS memos these two goofballs send out to us. The sad thing is, they still think there are people in the company that believe these packs of lies.

-b, you got me. I used a “nonstandard” version of a word. Modern Scrabble rules (at least the rules I play by), however, allow for the use of any word that has a definition on Dictionary.com. Therefore, I can not be held in the wrong for using a word that has existed for nearly a century.

ir⋅re⋅gard⋅less  /ˌɪrɪˈgɑrdlɪs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ir-i-gahrd-lis] Show IPA
–adverb Nonstandard. regardless.

——————————————————————————–

Origin:
1910–15; ir- 2 (prob. after irrespective) + regardless

Usage note:
Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009

b and cjstl: Irregardless of what the dictionary says, using “irregardless” in a sentence will get you Tazed by the grammar police. Trust me - I know through hard experience.

True Jeremiah, but Irregardless would get you 14 points without double or triple scoring!

What is funny— there was a time when a StL TV or print reporter, who posted a negative story about AB, would lose their job. AB ran this town and to say anything negative about the company would, at best, put your career on hold and at worst, send you packing your bags.

Today, it is funny and sad, that the powerhouse at #1 Busch Pl. is reduced to posting a pathetic and contrived rebuttal on this backwater blog. Anyone who was aware of the AB party house on the lake knew what went on there. Drug and naked girl parties all paid for with the shareholders nickel. The dumb stiffs working on the beer lines could lose their jobs for smoking a couple of joints; while, the party boys partied on with designer drugs and “prime cuts” from the University of Missouri.

QUESTION: What is wrong with the USA?

ANSWER: Too many W. Bush’s in high places. Anheuser-Busch’s upper management is just one more example of the rot of corporate America. Too many immature frat boys, drunk on alcohol and intoxicated with their own egos, running the country. And I might add—running it into the ground.

going-going-gone: This “backwater blog” is working on 60,000 hits this week, 900,000 in seven months, and 3,000 comments (at least one of which is yours.) So if this is the backwater, we’ll take it. Thanks for reading.

-Niemann told KSDK the retreat conveys the message that the managers are “special people. They have a separate set of rules while the rest of us share the pain. This is similar to the outrage people felt with AIG when everyone was going off on junkets. It’s violating a sense of fairness.”-
I guess I’m stupid or something, but I just don’t know what “fairness” has to do with anything in this story. Is it fair that these people work 70 hours a week and the folks on the line only work 40? Is it fair that the best salespeople got to go visit customers at the lake and the salespeople who aren’t as good didn’t?
BTW, I’m still trying to figure out how this whole trip was a “retreat”. Were they golfing, getting massages etc.??

“Fairness” is bull tripe. There is nothing “fair” about business.

Companies need “special people” to be successful. Rewarding and recognizing those “special people” incents them to achieve more. High achievement is what distinguishes the successful from the less than successful.

Juli Niemann should stick to commenting about that which she knows, which does not include how to successfully motivate high achievers.

Bob Richards played airplane roulette and lost. He was a 4′8″ tall nut job. His hangout was the YMCA in Chesterfield. He sure did love all that attention. He is RIP since 1994. So KSDK has bad weather forecasts since 1994. I wonder why you watch it then? Can’t you get channel 2? LOL.

This is great. A company helping the Missouri economy by not leaving the state to have a company wide meeting, a people are getting on their case. Maybe all the job cuts were done because the jobs actually weren’t needed anymore. It is like this is a bankrupt company that laid people off and is now spending millions (or even billions) to have lavish parties. Heck, they went to the LAKE OF THE OZARKS…they spent time on a BIG BOAT…hold the press!!!!!!!! It isn’t like they went out of the country or spent billions of dollars.

It is just pathetic for the city of St. Louis that something like this actually is considered newsworthy. Now I know why I usually don’t watch the local news channels anymore.

The KSDK story pointed out the fact that it is extremely bad taste, wrong actually, for a company to cut jobs, health benefits, and retirement benefits then have those people responsible for making those decisions out partying and living it up ($100 per person, please).

These so called “People Managers” have no conscience and they truly believe they are special and beyond reproach. KSDK just trampled their poor, narcissistic egos.

I have been telling you all along on here that the Brazilians have no regard for their employees. Brio has stated publicly that he has a need for no more than 200 people that he employes. On the other hand, the Brazilian businessman will party to excess.

Drink Blue Moon.