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Toshiba's Westinghouse Fired Chairman Two Days Before Bankruptcy Filing

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on
Westinghouse Electric Co LLC fired its chairman two days before the U.S. nuclear engineering unit of Toshiba Corp. filed for bankruptcy last week, as the Japanese firm tries to draw a line under the travails of a business that has cost it billions, Reuters reported today. Toshiba's spokesman said that Westinghouse chairman Danny Roderick was replaced by Mamoru Hatazawa, chief of Toshiba's nuclear division, on March 27, two days before the chapter 11 filing. Hatazawa's role would be temporary, he added. Roderick, described by industry and company insiders as more salesman than engineer, was the driving force behind Toshiba's nuclear ambitions. Toshiba said that the executive change, only the second reported at the senior level since the Westinghouse crisis began to unfold in December, was intended to reassure clients in advance of the bankruptcy filing. It declined to say whether Roderick remained with Westinghouse.