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Toshiba to cut 6,800 jobs following accounting scandal

All the layoffs and a $4.5 billion loss come from its consumer electronics division.

The fallout from Toshiba's accounting scandal is hitting in force, and it's not pretty. The Japanese company has announced that it will take a $4.5 billion loss and cut 6,800 jobs, or about 30 percent of its total consumer electronics workforce. Although some of the losses can be chalked up to a tight market, Toshiba took a serious hit after admitting it lied about profits for nearly six years. As part of the restructuring, it will sell off its TV and washing machine factories to Hong Kong partner Skyworth. The company recently sold its image sensor business to Sony and stopped building TVs for the US market.

Toshiba is still far from being out of the woods. To further streamline operations, the company wants to combine its PC operations with Fujitsu and Vaio, and may join forces with Sharp -- which is also stumbling -- in the appliance business. In addition, former executives may face criminal charges, and Toshiba hasn't yet accounted for the cost of the 2011 tsunami on its nuclear business. In total, the company employs nearly 200,000 workers.