Coca-Cola cutting up to 1,800 jobs

NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola says it will cut between 1,600 and 1,800 jobs in coming months to trim costs.

The world's biggest beverage maker says it began notifying workers in the U.S. and some international locations today. It said job types are across all parts of its business and include about 500 cuts at its Atlanta headquarters.

The company, which makes Sprite, Powerade, Vitaminwater and other drinks, has about 130,600 employees around the world, according to FactSet.

In an emailed statement, Coca-Cola said it will "continuously look for ways to streamline our business," suggesting additional cuts could be announced later.

Coca-Cola Co. and rival PepsiCo Inc. have been looking for ways to cut costs as their soda businesses have flagged in North America.

In October, Coca-Cola said it planned to slash costs by $3 billion a year through a variety of measures. It said the savings would be used to help fund the stepped-up marketing it believes is needed to drive up beverage sales. The announcement came as the company reported disappointing revenue for its third quarter, with global beverage volume up just 1 percent.