Headlines: Nissan, Catholic Healthcare West, Tribune, Blu-ray Disc, Disney

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Nissan Staff Cuts

Nissan Motor Co. expects to cut its North American headquarters staff by as much as 25 percent as it begins shifting employees this month from Gardena to the Nashville area, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Thursday. Nissan North America employed 1,300 managers, professionals and clerical staff at its 40-acre, 13-building complex in Gardena when it announced the move in November. But the automaker will have only “a little more than 1,000” headquarters staff when the move to Tennessee is completed at the end of next month, Ghosn said. Only about 400 of the employees who worked in Gardena when the move was disclosed are transferring to Tennessee.



Hospital Settles Gouging Suit


Hospital group Catholic Healthcare West has agreed to reimburse as many as 800,000 uninsured patients for excessive charges to settle a class-action price-gouging lawsuit. The suit claimed that the San Francisco-based health-care provider, which owns 40 hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona, routinely charged uninsured patients as much as five times the amount paid by private insurers and government programs for the same services. The group operates several hospital in the L.A.-area.


Tribune Shoots Back at Chandlers


The sniping over the future of Tribune Co. escalated Thursday as the media conglomerate’s independent directors responded to this week’s scathing attack on the company by the former owners of the Los Angeles Times. The directors denounced as “untrue” and “unfounded” the Chandler family’s allegations leveled in a regulatory filing Wednesday that Tribune’s board acted rashly in launching a $2-billion stock buyback now under way. “We completely reject your assertion that the action of Tribune’s board in authorizing the tender offer was ‘hasty and ill-informed’,” the directors said in a letter addressed to the two Chandler trusts that control 12 percent of the company’s stock and thus are the company’s second-biggest shareholders.



Blue-ray Disc Launches


Blu-ray Disc, the next-generation optical disc format supported by most of studios and manufacturers, makes its often-delayed debut next week, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The company, vying to compete with HD-DVD technology, will ship seven titles to stores. The movies include “50 First Dates,” “The Fifth Element,” and “Hitch.”


Paramount Executive Moves to Disney


Jim Brehm joins Walt Disney Co. as senior vice president of sales for its foreign TV arm, Daily Variety reported. He was previously executive vice president for international television at Paramount Pictures Worldwide TV Distribution.

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