Only a corporate officer or the IR of a public company can announce any significant news.  If another person with the company does make a statement of any kind and they are not an officer, there could be some personal liability attached to their comment as the corporate veil may not cover them and the company's liability insurance may not as well.  It is routine for companies to instruct all employees to not make comments or engage in contracts regarding their company unles authorized.  I'm sure everyone knows that.