Coca Cola 2003 Annual Report Download - page 15

A California law requires that a specific warning appear on any product that contains a component listed by
the State as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects. The law exposes all food and beverage producers
to the possibility of having to provide warnings on their products. This is because the law recognizes no generally
applicable quantitative thresholds below which a warning is not required. Consequently, even trace amounts of
listed components can expose affected products to the prospect of warning labels. Products containing listed
substances that occur naturally in the product or that are contributed to the product solely by a municipal water
supply are generally exempt from the warning requirement. No Company beverage products are currently
required to display warnings under this law. However, we are unable to predict whether an important
component of a Company product might be added to the California list in the future. We are also unable to
predict whether or to what extent a warning under this law would have an impact on costs or sales of Company
beverage products.
Bottlers of our beverage products presently offer nonrefillable, recyclable containers in all areas of the
United States and Canada. Some of these bottlers also offer refillable containers, which are also recyclable.
Measures have been enacted in various localities and states which require that a deposit be charged for certain
non-refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements imposed by these measures vary. Other deposit,
recycling or product stewardship proposals have been introduced in various jurisdictions. We anticipate that
similar legislation or regulations may be proposed in the future at the local, state and federal levels, both in the
United States and elsewhere.
All of our Company’s facilities in the United States are subject to federal, state and local environmental
laws and regulations. Compliance with these provisions has not had, and we do not expect such compliance to
have, any material adverse effect upon our Company’s capital expenditures, net income or competitive position.
Employees
As of December 31, 2003, our Company employed approximately 49,000 persons, compared to
approximately 56,000 at the end of 2002. The decrease in the number of employees was primarily due to (1) our
streamlining initiatives, mainly in North America and Germany, and (2) the deconsolidation of Cosmos Bottling
Corporation in the Philippines. At the end of 2003, approximately 9,200 Company employees were located in the
United States.
Our Company, through its divisions and subsidiaries, has entered into numerous collective bargaining
agreements. We have no reason to believe that we will not be able to renegotiate any such agreements on
satisfactory terms. The Company believes that its relations with its employees are generally satisfactory.
Securities Exchange Act Reports
The Company maintains an Internet website at the following address: www.coca-cola.com. The information
on the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference in this annual report on Form 10-K.
We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file
with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘SEC’’) in accordance with the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Securities Exchange Act’’). These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on
our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or
furnish it to, the SEC.
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