When Johnson and Johnson announced its takeover of Guidant Corporation,
city officials in Temecula, CA began thinking about the effects that this deal might have on their community. Guidant is one of the largest employers in the city employing some 2,700 people, and paying about $3.7 million in local property and state income taxes. The contributions of both the company and its employees, individually, are many and have lifted the local economy. Though it is too soon to speculate on the effects of the merger on this community, locals know they could be significant.
See "J&J Deal Unsettles Temecula", Julie Tamaki and David Reyes, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2004