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Olympus plans to cut 2,700 jobs | Olympus plans to cut 2,700 jobs |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Olympus, the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker says 2,700 jobs will go as part of a five-year plan. | |
It lost 49bn yen ($618m; £400m) in the year to the end of March, but forecasts a profit of 7bn yen in 2012-13. | |
Last year, the company admitted hiding losses of 130bn yen. | |
Olympus also approved on Friday a £10m settlement with former chief executive Michael Woodford, who was sacked by the company's board after raising the accounting irregularities. | |
Mr Woodford, a Briton, had filed a complaint of wrongful dismissal against his former employer, claiming he had been fired for blowing the whistle on the accounting scandal. | |
Olympus had said its decision to dismiss Mr Woodford, the company's first foreign chief executive, had been due to a clash of culture. | |
High debts | High debts |
Olympus, the world's biggest maker of endoscopic cameras used by surgeons, is suffering with relatively high costs and debts. | |
It will reduce its global workforce by 7% by 2014, and cut the number of its factories around the world from 30 to 18 by 2015. | |
In its statement, the company said it wanted to "restore its financial health". | |
Currently, shareholder money accounts for less than 5% of the company and the rest is financed by debt. | Currently, shareholder money accounts for less than 5% of the company and the rest is financed by debt. |
A debt-to-equity ratio of 20% is generally considered healthy. The group has hinted that it will ask shareholders for additional capital in a share sale. | A debt-to-equity ratio of 20% is generally considered healthy. The group has hinted that it will ask shareholders for additional capital in a share sale. |
There had been reports that consumer electronics maker Panasonic could buy shares in Olympus. | |
However, the BBC's Tokyo correspondent, Roland Buerk, said: "There's talk of a tie-up. Panasonic has said it's not interested but Fujifilm does seem to be interested." |