Cummins Confidential : Darlington at 60 – “Jen” Rumsey Found, Search Called Off

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Sixty years in Darlington. Sixty years of exhaust dressed as nostalgia. Cummins marked the milestone with a “family fun day” – engines polished for the camera, burgers on the grill, and a press corps ready to clap on cue. The Northern Echo dutifully obliged, painting diesel as heritage and handing Cummins a free headline that smelled like gratitude.

The Great Pretend

Plant tours, photo ops, and a Lord-Lieutenant waving scissors like a game-show hostess. Steve Morley told the crowd it’s “about the people” – the same man a tribunal decided had played fast and loose with the truth during a redundancy case. His quote could’ve been printed on a commemorative mug: sincerity-free and dishwasher safe.

And look who found her voice again – Jennifer Rumsey. Debuting a new abbreviated name, too. It’s now Jen. Shorter, friendlier, easier to print on the balloons. It isn’t mentioned if she was actually there in person, of course. She likely phoned it in from whatever safe PR bunker she’s been hiding in since TCAP asked about forced-labour links in Cummins’ supply chain. Her ghost-written line – “Darlington has powered progress around the world for 60 years” – is the kind of syrup you serve when you’ve run out of answers. She’s got nothing to say about EVE Energy and alleged forced labour, but plenty about family fun and legacy. Diesel-flavoured nostalgia, straight from corporate HQ. Top CEO-ing, Jen.

The Echo’s Free Gift

Normally, the Echo’s Cummins love letters come stamped “SPONSORED” like a public warning. This one didn’t. No disclosure, no questions, no journalism – just PR copy with a by-line. Maybe after years of taking Cummins’ money, they collected enough stamps for a freebie.

The People and the Price

Morley – the man who lies to tribunals and gets promoted for his sins – says it’s “about the people”. Sure, Cummins is all about the people. Even the ones they’re poisoning, after landing the biggest Clean Air Act fine in history in California. Details of that scandal didn’t make it into the Echo – this birthday party did, however.

The Truth Beneath the Balloons

Darlington’s “celebration” wasn’t a thank-you to the town – it was a brand respray. A distraction dressed in bunting. Behind the ice-cream stands and family photo ops sits a company still reeking of billion-dollar fines and human-rights questions they won’t answer.

Sixty years of engines, spin, selective reporting and amnesia. Anyone paying attention knows better. It’s enough to make you want to puke.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Sources

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