It began with the meeting minutes. I asked multiple times to see them because things didn’t add up. When they finally arrived, they were the opposite of what I’d said. My concerns were recast as “unsubstantiated” despite the evidence I had. Those distorted notes were used to dismiss my grievance before it had a chance to breathe.
Next came the occupational health appointments. After my depression diagnosis, they scheduled return-to-work checks not to support me but to tick boxes for a capability dismissal. Every session felt like theatre: rehearsed questions, pre-packaged answers, a report filed under “supported” even though the outcome was already written. It wasn’t care. It was a script.
Then the document edits. Records of reasonable adjustments vanished or were altered. Metadata I pointed to was dismissed as a “spelling mistake.” Conversations I’d had – details I remembered clearly – were denied ever taking place. Policies and emails were rewritten to fit their narrative. These changes were not accidental; they served a single purpose: protect the company at my expense.
At tribunal, their witnesses delivered testimony so polished it erased anything that didn’t match the company line. I watched details shift and memories “adjusted.” Falsified documents appeared in the bundle, tipping the record firmly in Cummins’ favour. This was not sloppy preparation. It was a coordinated effort to control the story.
When digital tactics kicked in, it was obvious. Corporate IPs and VPN hits flooded my blog analytics to drown out genuine traffic. Then, just as suddenly, it all stopped. Not an authentic reduction in interest. A coordinated effort. The silence was a tactic. If nobody seems to care, they hope I’ll doubt myself. Cupertino traffic persists. Not Cummins itself, but those watching from there.
When things get truly desperate, Cummins reverts to its default move: gaslighting. Just as after the massive emissions scandal they gaslit the world and admitted no wrongdoing, here they deny, distract, and wait for the noise to fade. Two years on after my departure, the gaslighting continues whenever they feel threatened. I’ve weathered their tactics. I see them. I’m wise to them. I see each as an escalation they chose.
I remember every fake-support appointment, every altered memo, every rehearsed statement crafted to shield the company. I felt it in each meeting where my words were distorted, each tribunal session staged to erase my truth.
This is not a culture of care. It is a fortress of denial. They thought the walls were sound. I’m here to prove every seam leaks.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project