Raytheon Co. may close 12 plants and...

Raytheon Co. may close 12 plants and parts of eight others to keep its promise to cut costs by 10% after acquiring two other defense contractors. Spokesman Robert McWade said the Lexington, Mass.-based company, whose shareholders vote next month on a $9.5-billion merger with Los Angeles-based Hughes Electronics, revealed its plans in meetings with industry analysts. . . . US Airways Group Inc. said it will buy the East Coast shuttle that operates under its name for $285 million as part of an effort to expand operations in the Northeast. Shuttle Inc., which operates under the US Airways Shuttle brand, is owned by a group of banks, with US Airways owning a minority stake. . . . Negotiators for the Teamsters union and the nation’s long-haul trucking companies agreed to continue contract talks despite turmoil in the union’s leadership, according to spokesmen for both sides. . . . The Justice Department is looking into possible antitrust violations in the vitamin manufacturing industry, government and industry officials said. Prosecutors are conducting their probe through a grand jury in Dallas, according to a spokesman for BASF, one of the world’s top makers of bulk vitamins.