Company news
Labor talks at Northwest Airlines Corp. failed to produce a deal on the day before a judge is expected to decide if the carrier can reject its pilot and flight attendant union contracts.
Negotiators are set to meet in Judge Allan Gropper’s chambers in New York at midday Friday to tell him about what progress they’ve made. Gropper has said he will decide after that meeting if Northwest can throw out its contracts with the two unions, which would allow the airline to impose its pay and work rule demands.
The unions have warned they may strike if that happens. But no strike could happen before Tuesday, when pilots finish their strike authorization vote.
•International business and sales of non-carbonated beverages will play key roles in The Coca-Cola Co. achieving its long-term growth targets, a top executive told investors Thursday.
Muhtar Kent, the newly appointed president of Coca-Cola’s international division, said at a conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., that the Atlanta-based company is looking to expand on the 20 billion unit case volume that it recorded last year in over 200 countries.
He cited Russia, China and Turkey as areas where the company believes there is growth potential for the world’s largest beverage maker.
•Medical device maker Guidant Corp. failed to get the necessary federal approval for changes it made to a line of defibrillators, waiting more than a year to tell regulators it had repaired software in the devices, according to inspection documents released Thursday.
The inspection report by the Food and Drug Administration said a memory disruption flaw in Guidant’s Prizm, Prizm 2 and Vitality pulse generators could cause the defibrillator to incorrectly administer an electric shock to a patient’s heart.
A company spokesman said Indianapolis-based Guidant notified the FDA about the malfunction problem in August 2002, when it was first discovered.
•Procter & Gamble Co., outlining its plan to sustain growth since it bought razor-maker Gillette Co., will focus on combining the strong points of both companies, especially in developing markets where P&G sees opportunity for growth and Gillette also has had success, executives said on Thursday.
“We are using the Gillette integration as a catalyst to become an even more capable company and even more formidable as a competitor,” P&G Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley said.