NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - On an internal Web site, Wal-Mart's chief executive fires back at store managers questioning the retailer's practices, including its choice to not offer benefits for retirees.

In postings made on Lee's Garage, a confidential Web site Wal-Mart (Research) CEO Lee Scott uses to communicate with the retailer's store managers, Scott is candid about the company's decision to not offer a medical retirement plan.

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"If we're not competitive, we don't exist. We have to operate in the environment we're in today. So we do not have retiree health benefits, and we will not have retiree health benefits unless the industry as a whole changes, or unless the government somehow gets involved in what is today a health-care mess in this country," he argues in a posting from April.

Wal-Mart Watch, a group that monitors the retailer and often criticizes its practices, provided CNNMoney.com with copies of Lee's responses.

The postings, which at times take on biting tone, show a defensiveness that Scott usually keeps under wraps, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the Web postings.

In response to the manager inquiring about retiree medical benefits, Scott continues: "What bothers me is that this is a store manager who's running the store meetings in the morning. If this is how he feels and how he expresses himself, I worry about him representing all of us in management to his associates.

"Quite honestly, this environment isn't for everyone. There are people who would say, 'I'm sorry, but you should take the risk and take billions of dollars out of earnings and put this in retiree health benefits and let's see what happens to the company.' If you feel that way, then you as a manager should look for a company where you can do those kinds of things."

In the transcripts, Scott tackles other topics, including the company's stagnant share price and public attacks on its practices.

In an April 2004 posting, Scott admits he is concerned about the onslaught of negative media attention. "I don't know if I'd say I'm concerned about Wal-Mart's reputation: among the people who matter most, namely our associates and customers, we have a very fine reputation. But I am concerned about the press."

The postings on the Lee's Garage site offer a glimpse into the concerns roiling the retail empire, the Times said, ranging from the retailer's ongoing expansion to its treatment of employees.

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