Former Olympus CEO settles lawsuit over his dismissal
The former CEO and president of Olympus Corp., Michael Woodford, was fired in October 2011 for asking too many questions about the hundreds of millions of dollars the company spent acquiring a medical manufacturer.
May 29, 2012 at 07:02 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
The former CEO and president of Olympus Corp., Michael Woodford, was fired in October 2011 for asking too many questions about the hundreds of millions of dollars the company spent acquiring a medical manufacturer. Woodford then sued Olympus for unfair dismissal and discrimination, a suit which he has now settled.
Bloomberg reports that outside the hearing room, Woodford said, “The company needs to move on. There is a new board. I need to move on.” This is a remarkable show of decorum, especially considering he was absolutely right: less than a month after Woodford was fired, Olympus admitted that it had used the acquisition to cover up investment losses, and that it had been doing similar things for decades.
The terms of Woodford's settlement have not been revealed, but according to the Financial Times, the payout may be £10 million ($15.7 million).
Read more InsideCounsel stories on the Olympus cover-up:
Olympus says ex-CEO leaked company secrets
Olympus admits to hiding losses
SEC set to question ex-president of Olympus
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