Pepsi Bottling Ventures plans to close a warehouse in Durham and shift most of the facilities' workers to its operation in Garner.

Pepsi Bottling recently made automation improvements at the Garner facility that prompted the workforce consolidation, said spokesman George Suddath.

It's another example of the harsh reality in a post-recession world: Even as the economy steadily improves, companies in many industries are continuing to look for opportunities to cut costs.

The Durham facility employs about 100 people and most have been offered transfers to the Garner plant off of Jones Sausage Road.

A deal between Pepsi Bottling Ventures in Raleigh and Cheerwine means that it will soon be easier to find the soft drink in the Triangle.

Cheerwine, for those who aren't familiar with it, is the cherry-flavored soft drink made in Salisbury. The home-grown drink was invented in 1917 but hasn't always been easy to find east of Greensboro.

Still, in recent years Raleigh has become one of its top markets, according to the company. The distribution deal with Pepsi Bottling Ventures will only help that. It basically means more Cheerwine will be distributed to more local stores.

“We’re pleased to have the two most iconic brands that are both born in North Carolina – Cheerwine in Salisbury and Pepsi in New Bern – together in our home base, Raleigh,” Paul Finney, senior vice president of sales and marketing for PBV, said in a statement.  

Cheerwine is owned and distributed by the Carolina Beverage and Cheerwine Bottling. The company is privately owned and managed by the same founding family; four generations of whom have worked there.

Thousands of Haitians are drinking Raleigh water.

Matthew Bucherati, vice president of operations at Pepsi Bottling Ventures, last week began organizing a donation of 2,889 cases of Aquafina produced in Raleigh to victims of the earthquake in Haiti. That's 69,336 bottles.

Bucherati got approval from Keith Reimer, CEO of the Raleigh-based company, and used contacts at Ft. Bragg, a Pepsi Bottling customer, to arrange the delivery to Charleston and then to Haiti.

Bucherati, who has been with the company for more than 20 years, "knows how to make things happen," said Pepsi Bottling spokesman George Suddath. "He got it in his head that he was going to make this happen and give some immediate relief. Hopefully, we'll be able to provide some more."

The donation is just one of many by companies with Triangle operations.

Forgive the folks at Pepsi Bottling Ventures if they forgo throwing a Super Bowl party.

The Raleigh-based company, one of the nation's largest bottlers of Pepsi products, can't control how the beverage and snacks giant spends its advertising money. But it couldn't have set off much celebrating when Pepsi announced Thursday that it won't advertise its drinks during the big football game on CBS.

Pepsi beverages have been advertised in the Super Bowl since 1987, with spots that featured celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Britney Spears and Will.i.am. Last year the company spent $33 million promoting products such as Pepsi, Gatorade and Cheetos, with $15 million on Pepsi alone.

The company spent $142.8 million from 1999 to 2008 on Super Bowl ads, second only to Anheuser-Busch, the Associated Press reports.

Pepsi plans to focus on new online marketing efforts.

Pepsi Bottling Ventures, the subsidiary of a Japanese company since 1980, employs more than 2,400 people at its 26 facilities in North Carolina, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont and Idaho.