Panama's Mulino to push for Chiquita's return after mass layoffs, blasts lawsuit threats

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday blasted reports of a possible lawsuit against banana giant Chiquita, which fired all its local day workers due to a strike, as he prepares to negotiate the firm's return to the country next week. Mulino said in a press conference he would likely meet with a top Chiquita executive on August 29 during his trip to Brazil. Chiquita rapidly fired over 6,000 workers in Panama's western province of Bocas del Toro over a nationwide strike over a pension reform that began late April.