Embattled Toshiba Incurs Loss Yet Again: Management Sells Businesses and Sheds Jobs

Embattled Japanese electronics company, Toshiba Corporation, is shedding 6,800 jobs after forecasting a net loss amounting to 550 billion yen (US$ 4.5 billion) through March 2016. The affected divisions include their television, personal computers, and home appliances lines of businesses, Bloomberg Business writes. Toshiba said that early retirement will be offered to affected employees in Japan, though there is still nothing definite for their employees in overseas locations.

Furthermore, in order to cut their losses, Toshiba plans to shut down and sell their research facility in Suburban Tokyo, and their TV manufacturing plant in Indonesia. The company plans to re-focus their business on energy and memory, so they plan to sell off their remaining properties and investments. They have earlier announced the sale of their image sensor manufacturing facility to Sony.

It can be recalled that earlier this year, Toshiba has admitted to doctoring its books over the course of several years to reflect inflated profits to the tune of 152 billion yen (US$ 1.3 billion), Business Insider notes. The unworkable targets set by management triggered subordinates to generate fake results. This scandal highlights Japan's struggles on their effort to improve corporate governance. The scandal, in combination with the sluggish performance of its personal computer operations, are widely seen as the catalysts for the company's spiraling freefall.

In addition to the scandal, the New York Times adds that Toshiba is in hot water because it is part of the consortium that operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which melted down after being damaged during the March 2011 tsunami.

Toshiba said that the losses incurred due to the nuclear disaster have not yet been fully accounted for on their books, so further losses are expected.

The latest forecast means that it is the second straight year that Toshiba has stayed in the red, after incurring nearly 38 billion yen (US$312 million) in losses last year.