Trouble at Olympus: the story so far
Olympus has admitted years of accounting irregularities estimated at $1.7 billion. Suggestions were being made implicating links to organised crime within the firm, however these appear to be largely unfounded. A damning report has been published by an independent panel appointed to investigate the scam.
Photography & Video
Olympus confirms 2,700 layoffs, plans to focus on mirrorless and high-end compact cameras
We heard last week that Olympus was planning to cut 2,500 jobs, but the truth is a little worse — the company has confirmed that it'll lay off around 2,700 people by March 2014. The move represents a reduction in workforce of about 7 percent. Olympus has outlined a 5-year vision for itself, forecasting a ¥7 billion ($88 million) net profit this year and setting the ultimate goal of reaching an 11 percent operating margin by 2017.
Apart from its profitable medical equipment business, the...
Photography & Video
Olympus to cut 2,500 jobs, consolidate overseas plants, sell 10 percent stake to Sony or Panasonic
Japanese newspapers are reporting that Olympus will cut around 2,500 jobs — over seven percent of its total workforce — in an effort to stem its financial losses. The cuts will be announced on June 8th, and will come from the company's struggling camera business as well as the consolidation of overseas plants. Olympus has been in dire straits after recently admitting to accounting irregularities estimated at $1.7 billion.
In addition to the job cuts, Asahi Shimbun reports that the company...
Olympus wants to trim camera portfolio, says incoming president Sasa
Incoming Olympus president Hiroyuki Sasa has expressed a desire to cut back the company's camera line in an attempt to return to profitability. In an interview with the Japan Times, Sasa confirmed interest from several firms in the possibility of a partnership, but said that the company was still "studying various possibilities and scenarios." Sasa indicated that the company's camera portfolio was too expansive, and singled out its compact cameras in particular as an area where savings could...
Photography & Video
Olympus considering potential partnerships with Sony and Fujifilm, among others
Olympus has had a bad year, to put it bluntly — it was revealed that the company lost over two billion dollars due to bad investments and tried to cover it all up. Despite all the troubles, however, the company might be getting some assistance from some powerful companies. German publication Der Spiegel is reporting that at least three companies are bidding to form partnerships with the strugglng camera-maker (who is also the world's biggest maker of endoscopes). President Hiroyuki Sasa...
Photography & Video
Tokyo prosecutors charge Olympus, three former executives, and three others with accounting fraud
Olympus has been wracked with legal problems since former CEO Michael Woodford blew the whistle about the company's shady accounting back in October of last year. Now, Olympus, three of its former executives, and three others are all being charged with accounting fraud by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office. If convicted, Olympus faces fines of up to ¥700 million (about $8.6 million), while the executives involved each face fines of up to ¥10 million (about $124,000) and up to ten...
Photography & Video
Former Olympus chairman Kikukawa arrested over fraud
Following a raid on Olympus's headquarters by Japanese prosecutors, the company's former chairman and six others have been arrested. Tsuyoshi Kikukawa is accused of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by covering up $1.7 billion in losses, which were exposed in part by the ex-company president and CEO Michael Woodford. Kikukawa was one of the 18 executives sued by Olympus over the scandal last month, along with former company auditor Hideo Yamada and former executive vice...
Photography & Video
Alleging fraud, Olympus sues its president and 18 other executives
In the newest twist in the Olympus saga, the company is now suing its president, Shuichi Takayama, seeking damages for his role in the $1.7 billion dollar cover-up that has rocked the Japanese camera maker. Eighteen other executives, including three ex-directors, were named with Takayama, as part of an accounting fraud that took place over nearly a decade.
The firm hid investing losses in a series of supposed merger payouts; former CEO Michael C. Woodford was fired after questioning the...
Olympus headquarters raided by Japanese prosecutors
The financial scandal at Olympus has turned into a legal one. Several sources report that Japanese prosecutors have raided Olympus' headquarters, offices belonging to business partners implicated in the scandal, and executives' homes. Japanese television showed the raids live, with "dozens of black-suited investigators marching double file" into one building.
The raids came after Olympus itself admitted to wrongdoing. An independent report had estimated the covered up losses at $1.7 billion,...
Photography & Video
Olympus concealed $1.7 billion in losses, says damning report
The 185-page report prepared by an independent panel investigating the Olympus accounting scandal has been released confirming the $1.7 billion cover-up reported by Reuters. The harshly-worded report says, "The core part of management was rotten and the parts around it were also contaminated by the rot." It criticized external auditors KPMG AZSA and Ernst & Young ShinNihon for "assisting with the concealment" and Olympus' "tribal culture of the Japanese salaryman."
The report lists 10 primary...
Policy & Law
Olympus may have lost up to $1.7b in bad investments
A source close to the investigation into Olympus' accounting discrepancies has told Reuters that the investment losses hidden by the firm since the 1990s at one point reached $1.7 billion. The firm admitted last month to concealing losses made through bad investments by hugely inflating administration fees paid to advisors during mergers and acquisitons. The investigating panel is due to publish its report into the affair very soon, which is expected to confirm that some of the company's most...
Policy & Law
Police suspect Olympus of yakuza involvement, trouble stems from financial losses in 1990s
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s organized crime division has joined the investigation into the questionable business dealings at Olympus dating back to the 1990s. While the unit’s participation certainly doesn’t confirm suspicions that Olympus was involved with "antisocial groups," we wouldn't exactly call it good news for the troubled company.
"I’ve heard that one unit from the organized crime division has joined, so they must be collecting information," Reuters quotes an...
Policy & Law
Olympus hid 'years of investing losses' with $1b merger payouts
Olympus confirmed this morning that losses on securities investments accumulated since 1990 were concealed through massive merger payouts, contrary to its earlier statement refuting any allegations of wrongdoing. The original allegations were made by former CEO Michael C. Woodford, who was fired from the company on October 14th following his attempt to force an investigation into a number of suspicious acquisitions. According to an announcement by Olympus the largest of these payouts was...
