Whether it's the formula, the different manufacturing process used in the new plant, or whatever you want to call it, the film is changing. They aren't changing the packaging, catalog numbers, and film name, and probably the development times just because they are moving.(posted 8119 days ago)The odds of getting someone on the phone at Kodak who actually knows what is going on (as opposed to repeating what they were told to tell people who inquire) is infinitesimally small. Corporations don't let technical people talk to customers for two reasons: 1) they might tell the truth (instead of the spin that the corporation wants to promote), and 2) If they spent time talking to customers, they can't get their work done.
Regarding Kodak being held liable for “lying”, if this were true, the marketing staff in most corporations would be in jail. But you can’t really prove in a court of law they were lying just because they put a “spin” on the changes, even if that spin is a bit misleading.
Here is the announcement (although it has been modified to make it more palatable since it originally appeared at this web address). http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/corp/pressReleases/pr20020224- 01.shtml
Of course, none of my comments should be construed to suggest that the film will not be as good as before (we won't know for sure until we try it), only that it will be a bit different, caused by the more economical manufacturing process that Kodak needs to implement to make B&W more commercially viable.