scandals

As expected, Olympus has confirmed that it'll be reducing its workforce by 7 percent, as the company tries to regain its footing in the wake of its crippling scandal.

According to Olympus, the company will cut 2,700 employees from its global workforce between now and March 31, 2014. The move is part of a broader restructuring that could see major changes across the company's subsidiaries, global production sites, and other divisions.

The cuts Olympus plans to make are actually a bit deeper than expected. Last week, Japanese news outlet Nikkei Business Daily reported that the company would cut approximately 2,500 jobs from its payroll. … Read more

After a massive scandal left the company in shambles, Olympus is trying to pull itself out with layoffs and a possible equity sale, according to a new report.

According to Japanese news outlet Nikkei Business Daily, Olympus plans to cut 2,500 jobs from its payroll, representing about 7 percent of its total workforce. In addition, it hopes to sell a portion of its business to fellow Japanese giants Panasonic or Sony to raise some cash, Japanese papers are reporting today, according to Reuters. Olympus is reportedly ready to hand over about 10 percent of equity for hundreds of millions … Read more

The former head of News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper business Rebekah Brooks has been formally charged in the phone-hacking scandal that took the popular News of the World down.

The U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today announced that it has charged Brooks with three counts of "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice." CPS claims that last July, Brooks "conspired" with her husband, chauffeur, and others to "conceal documents, computers, and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service." CPS also charged Brooks and her assistant with "permanently&… Read more

commentary Brian Dunn gave Best Buy's board of directors plenty of reason to doubt that he was the man to engineer the company's comeback.

Dunn, 52, who resigned as CEO of the struggling electronics chain last month while the company was investigating his "alleged misconduct," was taken down by an "inappropriate relationship" with a 29-year-old female employee. That was the finding of investigators who were hired to look into the relationship and Best Buy released their report today.

The four-page audit included details about Dunn loaning the woman money, giving her use of a … Read more

With a phone-hacking scandal still hanging over the head of News Corp. in Britain, Rupert Murdoch's international conglomerate is facing new hacking allegations in Australia.

According to the Australian Financial Review, e-mails and internal documents allegedly show that a "secret unit" inside News Corp. committed acts of corporate espionage against rival pay-TV services that may have resulted in the collapse of one company.

As part of the proof presented by the paper, editors there have posted to the Web more than 14,400 internal documents belonging to News Corp.

If the allegations prove true, News Corp. would … Read more

Japanese lawmakers went on an arrest spree today, nabbing seven people who were allegedly involved in the Olympus accounting coverup.

According to the New York Times, Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former Olympus chairman and president, was among the men arrested in Tokyo today. Japanese prosecutors told the Times that Kikukawa and two other former Olympus executives, have been detained on suspicion of falsifying financial statements. Two investment bankers and two of their associates were also arrested for alleged involvement in the coverup.

Olympus' trouble started in October when the company--led by Kikukawa--fired president and CEO Michael Woodford. Following his dismissal, Woodford presented documents to the media … Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif.--More than four and a half years after a California judge effectively dismissed criminal charges against the major players in Hewlett-Packard's spying scandal, federal prosecutors are bringing the case back to life.

A father-and-son team of private investigators went before a judge today in the U.S. District Court in San Jose intending to plead guilty on charges relating to HP's controversial probe of boardroom leaks to journalists, which took place in late 2005 and early 2006.

Matthew DePante, 32, and his father Joseph DePante, 64, were arraigned last week on charges of conspiring to … Read more

A father-and-son team of private investigators was charged in federal court last week on charges of conspiracy to commit Social Security fraud in connection with Hewlett-Packard's 2006 spying scandal, a court representative confirmed today.

The charges filed Thursday against Matthew DePante and his father, Joseph DePante, in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., stem from allegations that HP had indirectly hired their Florida-based private investigation firm, Action Research Group--a subcontractor to another firm--to probe boardroom leaks to journalists, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In what evolved into an embarrassing boardroom drama, HP came under fire for … Read more

An embattled News Corp. executive has stepped down following a phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the U.K. media world.

Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News Corp. newspaper unit News International, which also publishes The Times and The Sun, resigned this morning, saying that she no longer wants to be the "focal point of the debate" surrounding News Corp.

"As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place," … Read more