Toshiba boss quits over massive losses in nuclear power projects
The chairman of Japanese multinational Toshiba, Shigenori Shiga resigned on Tuesday, taking responsibility for the company’s multi-billion dollar losses in the troubled US nuclear power business.
He will step down from the board but will remain a Toshiba executive.
According to Associated Press, Toshiba announced it is on track to report a net loss of $3.4 billion (390 billion yen) in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2017. It also warned the estimated loss may change "by a wide margin," projecting a $6.3 billion (712.5 billion yen) loss for its nuclear business. That was related to the acquisition of a nuclear construction firm by its Westinghouse unit.
Toshiba stock tumbled eight percent in Tokyo trading after the announcement.
In December, Toshiba said it might write down billions of dollars in losses following Westinghouse's announcement that costs had significantly surpassed estimates.
According to the Japanese company’s president Satoshi Tsunakawa, Toshiba won’t take on new projects to construct nuclear plants. He said the company was looking for potential partners to acquire a stake in Westinghouse.
Toshiba said it hopes to fix the situation by selling its flash memory business and other assets.
Toshiba unveils #Fukushima spent nuclear fuel removal robot https://t.co/3NbRehIGRp I @RT_compic.twitter.com/ryIRHkn3mU
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) January 19, 2016
The Japanese conglomerate has been grappling with an accounting scandal in which it admitted doctoring financial results to meet unrealistic profit targets.
"It is so unfortunate that this has happened," a company director Ryoji Sato told reporters about the company's promises to come clean. "We must keep trying to do better."
Founded in 1875, Toshiba employs almost 200,000 people. Its business includes household appliances, railways, hydrogen energy and elevator systems.
