Business briefs

LOCAL
Quantum cuts 30 jobs at Springs site
Quantum Corp. said Thursday it laid off 30 of the 400 employees and contractors Wednesday at its Colorado Springs plant as part of a companywide move to reduce "overall operating expenses in response to the global financial crisis and related market uncertainty." The San Jose, Calif.-based manufacturer of devices for backing up, recovering and archiving data cut 180 of its 2,000 employees.

NATION
JPMorgan will shed 10 percent of staff
NEW YORK • JPMorgan Chase & Co. is shedding about 10 percent of its investment bank staff.
The New York-based banking giant is making cuts that are likely to be in line with its competitors Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, said a person familiar with the matter on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the cuts have not been publicly announced.
As of the end of the third quarter, JPMorgan's investment bank employed about 31,000 people.

PepsiCo will invest in Mexico sales
MILWAUKEE • PepsiCo plans to invest up to $3 billion in Mexico in the next five years to grow its beverages and food brands Sabritas and Gamesa there.
The Purchase, N.Y.-based maker of Frito-Lay's and Pepsi says it will spend $2 billion on manufacturing, marketing and research and development for its food businesses.
PepsiCo Americas Foods Chief Executive Officer John C. Compton told executives at an event in Mexico City Thursday that the company will spend the remaining $1 billion on marketing and advertising in the country.

Citigroup shares continue to slide
NEW YORK • Citigroup Inc. shares tumbled below $5 a share Thursday to their lowest level in more than 15 years, a sign that a Saudi prince's decision to boost his stake in the bank has failed to galvanize confidence among investors.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a longtime Citigroup investor, said he plans to increase his stake in the bank to 5 percent from less than 4 percent. It wasn't clear whether his roughly $350 million investment will be used to buy new shares or to buy stock from others.

VW Jetta named ‘green car' of year
LOS ANGELES • Green Car Journal named Volks-wagen's 2009 Jetta TDI the "Green Car of the Year" at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Thursday, making it the first clean-diesel vehicle to win the prize.
Green Car Journal is a quarterly magazine that covers developments in environmentally friendly cars and fuel-efficiency.
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