NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wal-Mart apologized Thursday for considering some shareholder groups as potential "threats" after they submitted proxy proposals ahead of the retailer's annual meeting in June.
Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley, referring to an internal company memo that described "background research" being conducted on shareholder groups as a "threat assessment," told CNN that Wal-Mart made a "poor choice of words. ....
This latest embarrassment for Wal-Mart comes a day after the Journal reported that a former Wal-Mart worker said he was part of a large surveillance operation that included snooping on employees, stockholders and others.
Security worker Bruce Gabbard was fired last month after 19 years with the retailer for intercepting phone calls from a reporter with the New York Times, the paper said.
Wal-Mart apologized to the Times over the incident and said the recorded conversations were unauthorized.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/05/news/companies/walmart_apology/index.htm?postversion=2007040512
