Top 20 Worst Companies of All Time
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing corporations with the most vilified legacies or reputations.
Netflix
Never forget what they took from us. A streaming landscape that was the proverbial wild west, delivered in conjunction with a quick and efficient DVD-by-mail service. Netflix has certainly come a long way since their instant view streaming titles and robust home video library. Society has ultimately adapted to being inundated with ads and enslaved to an algorithm. Elsewhere, the company has also faced criticism for the content hosted on its platform, from stand-up comedy to documentaries, yet this has done little to shake Netflix’s corporate dominance. It’s ultimately up to the consumer to decide where they spend their hard-earned dollars, choosing whether or not to continue chilling with Netflix or to seek different creative pastures.
Walmart
What can a consumer do when the only game in town also happens to be the cheapest? Walmart has long focused its business model on providing the lowest prices to its consumers, and this means a lot for struggling families on a budget. Yet this approach often occurs at the expense of local, home-grown businesses. Stores often struggle in the wake of a new Walmart or other superstore emerging within city limits. This hasn’t been the only criticism of Walmart, either, since the company has also been singled out for its resistance to unionized labor and for fostering a workplace environment of low wages and inequality.
Disney
The Disney company has long been an easy target for criticism, even by admitted fans of the House of Mouse. This goes beyond historical notions about Walt Disney the man, including the strikes under his watch and the problematic content that was released under his name. Complaints still routinely come up today about how Disney handles their legacy, from the seemingly endless glut of live action remakes to the censorship practices of its streaming service, Disney +. The catch-22 of entertainment is that you’ll never be able to please everybody all of the time, yet the Disney brand certainly seems to be adept at irritating a whole lot of people with frequency and consistency.
Temu
The old saying “you get what you pay for” certainly applies to some online marketplaces - like Temu. The popular online shopping destination has nonetheless received heavy criticism in recent years that’s been juxtaposed against their remarkable success. This includes accusations of designs and intellectual property being stolen and of the perceived low quality of their materials. It’s at the point now where a “Temu version” of something is largely used by the public to describe a hack or knockoff take on “the real thing.” And this doesn’t even scratch the surface of Temu’s battles with customers seeking to protect their privacy or accusations of exploiting forced labor.
TikTok
How does one regulate or outright ban a social media platform that seems to have so much cultural power and influence? This has been the longstanding battle between TikTok and the United States, where accusations of election influencing and misinformation have dogged the platform. Beyond this, TikTok has also faced criticism for creating unfair beauty standards, of creating harmful content and for actively damaging the attention spans of users, particularly young people. The addictive algorithm may have created short content stars in the mold of Vines (remember them?) while at the same time endangering how we view content and media in the modern day.
Amazon
Amazon has established themselves as “Earth’s most customer-centric company” for years now, delivering the lowest bottom line in a manner similar to Walmart. They’ve done this by revolutionizing the supply chain, but also by fostering a challenging culture for its employees. Amazon’s commitment to production and efficiency has been achieved on the backs of their workers, yet their resistance to unionizing has made headlines over the years. In addition, the Amazon third party seller model tends to hurt local small businesses, despite the company’s claims to the contrary. These reasons and others, such as concerns over environmental waste, have consistently placed Amazon in the critical gunsights.
The smartest thing Google ever did was choose its name, one that’s become synonymous with “searching for something on the internet.” This is despite there existing plenty of other options out there, from established competitors like Yahoo and Bing to less data-hungry competitors like Duck Duck Go. This latter question of privacy is one that routinely comes up with regards to Google’s internet dominance, of how the company’s search engine delivers immediate results at the expense of our personal data. Further accusations against Google in the public space have been levied at the company’s usage of AI technology, specifically with its summary results, as well as its monopolistic corporate practices.
Apple
The death of Apple, Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs didn’t signify the demise of his company. Far from it. Instead, we now live in a world where Apple devices and programs have ingratiated themselves into many facets of our daily lives. This is despite robust competition from companies like Microsoft and Samsung, as well as criticisms of Apple’s culture of closing off their technological biosphere. This ranges from consistent need to use “Apple approved” parts from one's appointment at an “Apple Store,” to the seemingly endless flow of updates. It’s all played into what outsiders have claimed is a cult-like atmosphere of Apple devotees who willfully ignore the company’s less-than-stellar reputation with labor, taxes and the environment.
Are you still on Facebook? Or did the criticisms against Mark Zuckerberg’s company cause you to leave the social media giant? The validity of social media itself is a conversation to be had, since this method of interaction has received so much pushback with regard to bad-faith deepfake actors and intentional misinformation. It’s the Facebook ecosystem that’s received the most criticism with this regard, together with Twitter, for how it's affected our daily lives. The relentless mining of our personal data, or the psychological issues of being constantly connected on a daily basis are big concerns. We often wake up to an algorithm, and stay on that algorithm all day, leading to the question: when does it end?
Tesla
“Separating the art from the artist” is a problem that can just as easily be applied to companies such as Tesla as those involved in entertainment. This is where many defenders of Tesla come in when it comes to the validity of clean energy versus the company’s founder, Elon Musk. It’s important, however, to also note that it’s not only Musk’s controversial public reputation that’s served as the crux of Tesla criticism. There’s also accusations against the company’s quality control and the alleged poor construction of their products. This is an addition to criticism of Tesla workplace culture, which has been described as one hostile to those that speak up about issues such as harassment, safety or labor organization.
Dow Chemical
There have been a number of scandals involving chemical companies over the years. The Union Carbide Corporation had a number of major disasters in the mid-80s, but the infamy surrounding Dow Chemical is arguably even more well known. For starters, there’s the fact that Dow developed both Napalm B and Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The aforementioned Union Carbide was also a subsidiary of Dow Chemical during the Bhopal Disaster of 1984. This was when a chemical leak at an Indian pesticide plant killed over two thousand people and injured half a million others. All of this was under Dow Chemical’s watch, not to mention other scandals that could easily take over more entries on this list.
Bre-X
The Bre-X Mineral Company was at the center of a huge mining scandal back in 1995, when it initially claimed to have discovered a large storage of gold in Indonesia. The company’s stock prices soared, but things quickly went south when it was uncovered that this claim from Bre-X was false. From there, the story felt like a violent political thriller, with stories of a supposed Bre-X geologist, “Michael de Guzman,” jumping out of a helicopter. Only some claim that it was actually a stolen corpse being tossed from a helicopter made to look like self-destruction. Fast forward through insider trading, lawsuits and even an armed home invasion, and you have one of the craziest series of events in Canadian corporate history.
BP
The story of BP proves that some companies can inexplicably emerge out the other side of even the most dreadful environmental disasters. We’re discussing, of course, the laundry list of accidents and leaks that have occurred under the watch of BP. There was the Texas City Refinery Explosion of 2005 that killed 15 workers and injured nearly 200 others. BP was also taken to task five years later for the leaking of multiple dangerous chemicals from that same Texas City refinery. Then there was the Prudhoe Bay oil spill of 2006, which dumped over 200,000 gallons of oil into the Arctic Ocean. Wait, there’s more. Deepwater Horizon, anyone? This was yet another oil spill that wreaked havoc on the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Palantir Technologies
Natural disasters aren’t the only violations associated with major international companies. Palantir Technologies is in the business of software, as well as analyzing public data. Specifically, Palantir has come under public scrutiny, thanks to their level of involvement with America’s Department of Homeland Security and their alleged cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a.k.a. ICE. The company’s CEO, Alex Karp, downplayed the level of involvement between Palantir and ICE, particularly with regards to deportation. However, Palantir was later singled out by Amnesty International in 2020, for their lack of research into human rights violations during their partnership with the agency.
Massey Energy
The coal industry continues to be a talking point within the United States’ national economy, with many troubling, historical examples of misconduct. Massey Energy Company was once a mainstay in U.S. states like Kentucky and West Virginia, but this success didn’t come without cost. For starters, there was the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster of 2010, that cost the lives of 29 miners. This was just one example of Massey’s recklessness in the coal industry, which saw the company consistently putting production successes over worker safety. A year after Upper Big Branch, Massey was fined an astonishing ten million dollars by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and it was sold off soon afterwards, to Alpha Natural Resources.
ExxonMobil
These days, the subject of climate change is one that’s discussed on an international level. That said, ExxonMobil’s decision to conduct research into the subject back in the 1970s and ‘80s seems, on the surface, to be a commendable idea. However, what actually was going down proved to be far more sinister. ExxonMobil actively worked to play down all of the results uncovered by their groups of scientists. This included intentionally spreading misinformation with regards to the severity of climate change, while also working to slow down U.S. involvement with taking a proactive stance on the crisis, within the world stage.
Monsanto
Monsanto may no longer exist as an independent company today, but its parent company, Bayer, has its own fair share of historical controversy. The German-based pharmaceutical giant was responsible for developing the gas chamber chemical, Zyklon-B, during World War II. In more recent years, the aforementioned Monsanto was involved in numerous lawsuits over the years. Specifically, Monsanto was aligned with Dow in the development of Agent Orange and other chemicals, like Dioxin. Then, there was the controversy with RoundUp, a popular pesticide that was found to harbor carcinogenic chemicals. The list here with Monsanto honestly goes on and on.
FIFA
The controversy and scandal surrounding FIFA is one of the worst kept secrets in the sports world. This is due to the organization’s almost impressive reputation for corruption. FIFA’s history with bribery finally came to a head in 2015, when 18 members of the organization were indicted for their alleged actions involving wire fraud and money laundering. FIFA’s control over the World Cup (and where it’s held) has always served as a source of controversy, but the 2022 games were a bit different. Specifically, the host country of Qatar, their alleged abuses of migrant workers and alleged human rights violations all reflected back upon FIFA and their systemic abuses of power. Their awarding of a so-called “peace prize” to President Donald Trump has generated more controversy.
Enron
The Enron Scandal was one of the largest financial scandals of all time, and it both shocked and devastated everyone from Wall Street to Main Street. The former energy company was front-and-center at a scandal that fraudulently inflated Enron’s revenue stream to the tune of billions of dollars. Indictments, evidence tampering and prison sentences were all part of The Enron Scandal, while simple employees saw 401k plans that they had counted on for their security being manipulated and mismanaged. It was a horrific breach of trust, and a truly shameful moment within the history of American business.
Triangle Shirtwaist Company
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire may have occurred in 1911, but it’s important that we never forget this NYC tragedy. Young garment workers, many barely out of their teens, lost their lives as a result of this fire. And it didn’t have to be this way. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company had the doors to stairwells locked, partially as a means of preventing unapproved break time. It’s unclear whether or not a discarded cigarette or mechanical failure started the fire, but this mattered little to those who were unable to escape. Over sixty employees jumped to their deaths in efforts to break free from the fire. While Triangle’s owners were indicted for manslaughter, they were acquitted, but later found guilty of wrongful death in a civil suit.
How much of a role do we, the consumer, have in battling unethical business practices by seemingly unstoppable corporations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
