In Wake of Bias Lawsuit, Coca-Cola Establishes Racial Diversity Council

Coca-Cola Co. said it formed a council to advise Chairman and Chief Executive Douglas Ivester on racial diversity, in the wake of a discrimination lawsuit against the world’s largest beverage company.

Jack Stahl, president of Coke’s North America division, and Carl Ware, a senior vice president who oversees Coke’s Africa operations and is the soft-drink company’s highest-ranking black employee, will head the council, according to an internal company memorandum.

Three Coca-Cola employees and a former worker filed a lawsuit April 22 in Atlanta, alleging the company pays them less and withholds promotions because they are black. The suit seeks class-action status on behalf of at least 1,500 black employees who worked in salaried positions since April 1995.

“There must be and will be no room for discrimination in any form or of any kind against any employee,” Ivester said in the memo, sent to Coke’s U.S. employees Wednesday. “There will be no tolerance for actions or words which would indicate any other environment.”

The Atlanta-based company confirmed the memo, though it declined to comment.

Ivester said he will hold regular meetings with employee groups to “help us determine what actions are appropriate for us to achieve our goals.”

The attorney for the plaintiffs said he welcomed the creation of the council, though he added it should have been done four years ago when the discrimination issues were first raised.

“It will not and cannot be effective without the input of plaintiffs and all the salaried black employees,” said Cyrus Mehri, a Washington attorney for the plaintiffs.

Coca-Cola shares closed up $1.50 at $68.50 on the NYSE.