Sara Lee Corp

* Sara Lee Corp. will lay off 1,300 to 1,400 more workers at its underwear manufacturing plants in Central and South America amid the continuing economic and retail slowdown.

First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday launched "Let's Move," a public awareness campaign aimed at conquering childhood obesity, and announced early support for her initiative from the food and beverage industry and the nation's pediatricians, among others. Obama, speaking from the State Dining Room surrounded by schoolchildren, said that 1 in 3 children in the U.S. are overweight or obese and that pediatricians are seeing more cases of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes.

Sara Lee Corp. is shedding bras and underwear but keeping its cakes and deli meats. The Chicago-based consumer products giant said Thursday that it planned to sell or spin off divisions with about $8.2 billion in revenue, more than half of that from apparel brands including Playtex and Hanes underwear. It also named a new chief executive in a sweeping reorganization of its business.

Sara Lee Acquires Interest in Playtex: Sara Lee Corp. will purchase a minority stake in Playtex Family Products Corp. for $62.5 million, the companies announced. Sara Lee will acquire preferred stock that will give it a 25% share of Playtex, which manufactures tampons, toothbrushes, hair-care products and other consumer goods. Licensing arrangements will give Chicago-based Sara Lee the right to sell non-apparel products bearing Playtex brands outside the United States and Canada.

Sara Lee Corp., the Chicago-based consumer-goods company with $20 billion in annual revenue, is donating its corporate art collection to 20 museums in countries where the firm does business. Sara Lee is the parent company of brands such as Hanes and Playtex. Its art collection includes French paintings from the Impressionists era, along with Italian and English modernist works from the 1950s.

Sara Lee Branded Apparel, the makers of Wonderbra, Hanes and Playtex products, will shut five plants and lay off 3,825 workers worldwide by year's end, the company announced. The moves come as the company consolidates its production of intimates, sportswear and underwear, Sara Lee Branded Apparel said. The changes are being made in anticipation of apparel trade restrictions set to expire at the end of the year.

The Cup of Excellence focus of the specialty coffee industry is to be expected from this sector: Quality is what is important to the specialty coffee roasters and should be applauded ("Cultivating Change to Take Back the Land," Dec. 12). Specialty coffee is still, and will remain, a tiny segment (by dollar volume) of the coffee industry, and unfortunately the Cup of Excellence effect will be similarly minute. The giants -- Nestle, Kraft Foods Inc., Proctor & Gamble Co. and Sara Lee Corp.

Sara Lee Branded Apparel, the makers of Wonderbra, Hanes and Playtex products, will shut five plants and lay off 3,825 workers worldwide by year's end, the company announced. The moves come as the company consolidates its production of intimates, sportswear and underwear, Sara Lee Branded Apparel said. The changes are being made in anticipation of apparel trade restrictions set to expire at the end of the year.

Brenda Barnes, who walked away from a job as president and chief executive of PepsiCola North America to spend more time with her children, will become the president and chief operating officer at Sara Lee Corp., the company announced Sunday. Barnes, 50, spent 22 years at PepsiCo, becoming president and CEO at PepsiCola North America in 1996. She made headlines when she quit in 1998 to be with her family.

Sara Lee Corp., the maker of baked goods and Ball Park hot dogs, said Monday that it suspended three salespeople the company said helped Royal Ahold's U.S. Foodservice unit inflate revenue. The workers certified inaccurate information Ahold had given its auditor Deloitte & Touche regarding rebates for products distributed to restaurants and cafeterias, said Sara Lee, a vendor of wholesaler U.S. Foodservice. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how U.S.

Sara Lee Corp. said fiscal first-quarter profit rose more than expected, to at least 35 cents a share, as the maker of Sara Lee cakes and Hanes underwear boosted sales and cut costs. Profit this year will rise to $1.54 to $1.60 a share from $1.36 last year, Sara Lee said. The company had forecast profit of $1.44 to $1.50. Shares of Chicago-based Sara Lee rose as much as $1.23 to $21.13 in after-hours trading, after gaining 47 cents to close at $19.90 on the NYSE.

Sara Lee Corp. said it settled discrimination lawsuits filed by a group of black workers at one of its former Philadelphia food processing plants for $3.5 million. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. Shares of Sara Lee fell 3 cents to $20.87 on the NYSE.

Sara Lee Corp. filed to spin off leather manufacturer Coach Inc. in a stock sale worth $140 million. Coach, which makes handbags, gloves, outerwear and scarves, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COH, according to Sara Lee's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The spinoff is part of Chicago-based Sara Lee's plan to whittle down a widespread collection of businesses obtained in the last quarter-century. Sara Lee shares fell 50 cents to $17.75 on the NYSE.

Sara Lee Corp. wants to take over a duty moms have carried out for kids for decades--slicing the crusts off white bread. IronKids Crustless Bread will sell it for about 75 cents more than the price of crusted bread, or $2.59 to $3.39 for a 16-ounce loaf, depending on the market. Sara Lee will spend nearly $10 million, making it the bakery group's biggest product launch. Sara Lee shares were unchanged at $21.07 on the NYSE.

Sara Lee Corp.'s president and chief executive, C. Steven McMillan, was elected to the additional post of chairman effective Oct. 5. McMillan, 55, succeeds the retiring John Bryan, whom he also had replaced last year as chief executive. Bryan, 64, was CEO for 25 years. The Chicago company announced four other high-level promotions. Barry Beracha, 59, CEO of the bakery group, was named an executive vice president of the corporation, and John Iselin Jr.