Business & Finance

Regal Cinemas, the world's No. 1 movie theater chain, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the next 45 days and seek creditor approval for a plan to restructure its $2 billion debt, the company announced. Regal, which owns more than 350 theaters in 32 states, will continue operations throughout the process and intends to complete reorganization within five months. The company is based in Knoxville, Tenn.

To try to stave off a bankruptcy filing, Polaroid Corp. plans a drastic reduction in healthcare benefits for 3,500 of its US employees and thousands of retirees, The Boston Globe reported. The newspaper said worker contributions to healthcare premiums would shoot up to about 50 percent from the current 20 percent. The Cambridge, Mass.-based instant-photo company estimated the benefit cuts would save $20 million a year.

Chevron added another bruise to a city reeling from high-tech and dot.com bankruptcies by announcing it will move its San Francisco headquarters to a suburban campus 40 miles away. The oil giant said it expects to complete the transition to San Ramón, Calif., by the end of 2002, ending a 122-year-old stay in the Bay Area. Only about 200 employees remain in San Francisco; the company has been transferring thousands of others to San Ramón since 1985.