One employee at Coca-Cola alleged company workers are forbidden from consuming a popular beverage.
Drinking Pepsi is something that could get you terminated, according to the claims of some crew members of the multinational corporation, with a current market cap of $282 billion.
According to a message shared on Quora one poster, calling himself Mike Smith, claims those working for the beverage giant are not permitted to drink the competition’s beverages, while they are at work on the clock.
Smith posted: “Upon being hired you actually sign an agreement stating you will not purchase or consume ANY competitors’ products or face termination.”
Eat This, Not This! says there are several other rules, some quirky, that employees must follow. They are outlined in the company’s 41-page Code of Conduct, which the site shared.
The Code includes justification for how it says it “can benefit employees” noting it enables workers to:
- Conduct yourself honestly and ethically
- Uphold our values and protect our reputation
- Understand what Coca-Cola expects from you
- Make good decisions every day
- Comply with the laws, regulations and standards that apply to our Company
- Understand where to go for assistance or guidance if you have questions
While a Code of Conduct is not uncommon business practice, some of the policies that the company has reportedly implemented, could be construed as not the norm. They include:
Strict attendance policy
According to a former Coke employee posting on Glassdoor: “They have a crazy strict attendance policy. NO sick days without penalty if you don’t give them a 48-hr notice. Who knows 48 [hours] in advance if you are going to have the flu?”
Employees cannot talk to the media
A former Coca-Cola employee, Wallace B. McClure, said on Quora that workers “aren’t allowed to be quoted in any media,” specifying that was the policy that was in place at least while he worked there.
McClure went on to state in his post that means abstaining from interviews even if “you are not associated with Coca-Cola by the media interview or statement.”
Workers told to be “less white”
More disturbing is a past claim about the corporate culture at Coca-Cola made by the Toronto Sun.
It alleges in late 2020 and early 2021, the the beverage titan required many of its employees to undergo a training program called “Confronting Racism” that, among other things, contained the direction that workers should act “less white.”
They were also reportedly instructed to “be less oppressive,” to “listen,” to “believe,” and to “break with white solidarity.
The US Sun reached out to Coca-Cola to verify the authenticity of these specific allegations. We have not yet received a response.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
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