Olympus CEO concedes camera division may be up for sale, via Bloomberg

Rumors on various gearhound websites have speculated Olympus Corp. may shut down its camera division within eight months; it’s not normally the policy of the Dead Pixels Society to report possibly damaging rumors, especially an unsourced one. In this case, however, Bloomberg news reports Olympus CEO Yasuo Takeuchi said the company is preparing for job cuts “in due course” to “improve performance” and to concentrate on its medical products and equipment business. The article added:

Takeuchi also backtracked on some of his comments in the past that the camera business was not for sale, saying that may not be the case anymore.

The article noted the imaging business makes up only 6% of Olympus’ sales, is the slowest-growing and lowest-margin business in the portfolio.

Previously, the company had refuted the rumors, even releasing this statement to PhotoFocus:

Olympus Imaging products play an important role as technology drivers for all Olympus business lines, including the advanced digital technologies used in Olympus’ Medical, Industrial and Scientific businesses. Olympus does indeed plan to continue to develop its imaging product lines, bringing products to life that embody Olympus’ core benefits, including system compactness and superior lens optics.