Westinghouse Electric Corporation

For other uses, see Westinghouse.
This article is about the defunct CBS Corporation. For the second CBS Corporation prior to the ViacomCBS merger, see CBS Corporation.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Formerly
  • Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company (1886–1945)
  • Westinghouse Electric Corp. (1945–1997)
  • CBS Corporation (1997–2000)
Company typePublic (1916–1997)[1]
NYSE: WX (1916–1997)[1]
FoundedAugust 8, 1886; 138 years ago (1886-08-08)
FounderGeorge Westinghouse
DefunctApril 26, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-04-26)
FateRenamed CBS Corporation in 1997, then merged with Viacom in 2000
Successor
Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Divisions
Subsidiaries

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in 1945. Through the early and mid-20th century, Westinghouse Electric was a powerhouse in heavy industry, electrical production and distribution, consumer electronics, home appliances and a wide variety of other products. They were a major supplier of generators and steam turbines for most of their history, and was also a major player in the field of nuclear power, starting with the Westinghouse Atom Smasher in 1937.

A series of downturns and management missteps in the 1970s and 80s combined with large cash balances led the company to enter the financial services business. Their focus was on mortgages, which suffered significant losses in the late 1980s. In 1992 they announced a major restructuring and the liquidation of their credit operations. In 1995, in a major change of direction, the company acquired the CBS television network and renamed itself CBS Corporation. Most of its remaining industrial businesses were sold off at this time. CBS Corp was acquired by Viacom in 1999, a merger completed in April 2000.[9] The CBS Corporation name was later reused for one of the two companies resulting from the split of Viacom in 2005.

One of the few remaining original lines of business to survive this process was the nuclear power division, which was sold to BNFL in 1999 and re-formed as Westinghouse Electric Company. The Westinghouse trademarks are owned by Westinghouse Electric Corporation,[10] and were previously part of Westinghouse Licensing Corporation.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b "Dow Jones Industrial Average - Historical Components" (PDF). www.djindexes.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "W.G. Bryant Dies; Bridgeport Banker – Chairman of Electrical Company and Inventor Succumbs at 66 in Colorado Springs – Started Own Firm in 1889 – Business Grew From $5,000 Plant to Manufacture His Devices to $3,000,000 Enterprise". The New York Times. July 6, 1930. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  3. ^ "Industrial Hamilton -- A Trail to the Future - Canadian Westinghouse Company, Limited". epe.lac-bac.gc.ca.
  4. ^ Kamen, Robin (November 24, 1997). "To Infinity and Beyond: Mel Takes on CBS". Crain's New York Business: 1.
  5. ^ "Viacom-CBS SEC Report".
  6. ^ "Westinghouse Bids for Role In the Remake: CBS Deal Advances TV's Global Reach". The New York Times. August 2, 1995.
  7. ^ Katz, Michael (February 17, 1997). "CBS makes cable a 'core business;' with purchase of TNN and CMT, network doubles its cable holdings". Broadcasting & Cable.
  8. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 11, 1997). "Westinghouse To Buy Units From Gaylord For $1.5 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  9. ^ "CBS And Viacom Complete Merger". CBS News. April 26, 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Sale of Trademarks". Paramount Global. p. 93. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "Error". search.sunbiz.org.