A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:55 p.m.
BROWN-FORMAN announced this morning that it’s launching its own distribution network in Spain, Europe’s third-largest whiskey market and the world’s ninth-biggest overall. The Louisville spirits giant will add about 40 employees in the expansion. The current distributor is Importaciones y Exportaciones Varma S.A. under a contract that will end June 30, 2017. “Establishing our own distribution organization in Spain will support the development of the Jack Daniel’s trademark as well as our broader portfolio in this dynamic market where premium spirits are growing,” said Thomas Hinrichs, president of Brown-Forman’s Europe and Asia markets.
Spain will join Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and the U.K. as markets where Brown-Forman owns or directly manages its own distribution. (press release). The company employs 1,300 workers in Louisville and another 3,300 across the U.S. and around the globe.
GE: Haier Group has been drawn into the bitterly contested Republican race for the White House, less than two months after the Chinese company completed its $5.6 billion purchase of GE Appliances. The conservative Federalist website says Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s past support of Haier’s research and development center in Evansville, Ind., is an example of the politician’s helping China “steal” U.S. jobs. Although Donald Trump has run on a campaign attacking U.S.-China trade, the website implies his selection of Pence as running mate casts doubt on the GOP nominees’ anti-China bonafides (Federalist). In the past, the site has sparked stories in more mainstream media, including Politico and The Daily Beast.
A year ago, Pence joined Haier executives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Evansville center. The pro-trade America China Society of Indiana quoted Pence saying at the time: “When I met with Haier executives in China this spring, I was invigorated by the company’s plans to accelerate technology development in Indiana. In addition to our strong workforce and pro-growth business climate, Indiana has quickly become a center for innovation, making the Hoosier State the natural choice for this facility as Haier continues to increase its presence in the United States” (America China Society). GE Appliances employs 6,000 workers at Appliance Park in Louisville’s south end.
UPS: In Spring City, Tenn., a man was arrested and charged with drug trafficking after Rhea County Sheriff’s deputies caught him with 20 lbs. of marijuana he allegedly received via UPS from California. Sheriff’s investigator Charlie Jenkins said the man, George Robert Luttenberger Jr., told him he’d been getting pot from California since 2012 (Herald-News). In Brooklyn, a federal judge allowed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to proceed with a lawsuit accusing UPS of discriminating against male workers and job applicants who wore beards or long hair for religious reasons (Reuters).
PAPA JOHN’S fired a Denver employee who used a racial slur on a customer’s order slip and apologized to the teenager who placed the pizza order. “This action is inexcusable and doesn’t reflect our company values,” company spokesman Peter Collins told the Denver Post.
This was the second instance in less than a month where a Papa John’s employee was fired over an apparently racist order slip circulated on Twitter; the first one involved an Asian-American customer’s order at a Louisville restaurant near the end of June.
The Denver area restaurant is owned by Peyton Manning, the retired Denver Broncos quarterback who’s promoted Papa John’s in TV commercials. The teenager’s mother saw the order ticket and asked a community activist named Brother Jeff Fard for help (Denver Post). Yesterday, Fard sent a Tweet that included a possibly NSFW photo of the racial slur: Continue reading “BF starts distribution system in Spain; GE Appliances owner Haier dragged into GOP China politics; and Tenn. man arrested over 20 lbs. of marijuana allegedly shipped via UPS”
But the two insurance giants are prepared to fight in court if their deal is blocked, a move DOJ antitrust regulators could take within just days, according to the business news cable channel, which is citing people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. “The insurers have offered up divestitures and secured buyers,” according to CNBC, “with contracts ready to be signed, for assets in local markets where their coverage overlaps, according to one source. But so far, the DOJ has not been convinced by the offer” (
Reflecting renewed investor optimism, Humana 
AMAZON is signing up amateur drivers in the U.K. to deliver packages in their spare time from distribution centers to customers’ homes, expanding a system it started last year in its corporate hometown of Seattle. Starting this month in Birmingham, a smartphone app will allow the company’s part-time mules to choose when and where they want to work, as well as guiding them to customers’ homes and allowing customers to track their orders (
Boulevard 