This sounded to me too like a massive violation of the most basic security policies any large corporation would take regarding highly sensitive personnel records. Someone high up is in serious trouble.
From the article:
“The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the company has a policy that mandates personal information be encrypted, but the information stolen along with the laptops had not been encrypted.”
“The company did not say how it realized the laptops were stolen or how it got them back, but Coca-Cola spokeswoman Ann Moore said a former employee who was given the task of disposing of the laptops had stolen them.”