Trading Partners

CHICAGO - Leading food manufacturer Kraft Foods Inc. announced Tuesday it plans to cut 6,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its work force, and close up to 20 plants worldwide by 2007 in a restructuring effort to reverse sluggish sales, The Associated Press reports.

PITTSBURGH - Giant Eagle last week announced it would lay off 115 management, administrative and clerical workers as part of a restructuring effort. The majority of the cuts are being made at the company's headquarters office in Pittsburgh.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it plans to revamp its regulations for bioengineered foods next year. The new rules are considered to be broader than the existing regulations.

TULSA, Okla. - About 200 workers at Hale-Halsell Co. will lose their jobs today after the grocery distributor announced layoffs in a series of meetings yesterday at its headquarters here, according to the Tulsa World.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Online auction site ebay has said it will ban the sale of recently expired coupons and electronic "scanned" coupons, according to the Wall Street Journal Online.

WASHINGTON - The boards of directors of the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today endorsed guidelines designed for use by companies engaged in the large-scale deployment of Electronic Product Code (EPC) to ensure consumers' privacy rights.

NEW YORK - Several new customer contracts were announced by various technology companies during the National Retail Federation Show here this week.

CINCINNATI - The Kroger Co. has called on its beef suppliers to immediately implement new regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would further enhance the safety of the nation's beef supply.