Renault-Nissan crumbles alliance with Carlos Ghosn gone

Several of Renault and Nissan's joint ventures are being quietly unwound, as the carmakers' alliance is crumbles in the absence of Carlos Ghosn, according to multiple current and train employees.

Some departments oversee joint functions within the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance are being axed, while others have received no new work in. "People have nothing to do," said one insider.

Until his arrest in Tokyo in November on charges of financial misconduct, Mr Ghosn, chairman of Nissan and chief executive of Renault, had been pressed for their alliance to be made "irreversible".

Now the "CEO office", which is overseeing the day-to-day running of the alliance functions and had several senior executives, is being disbanded, while other areas such as light commercial vehicles, sales and marketing, and communications are dwindling and dismissing staff , according to several people.

Spokespeople for the Alliance, Nissan and Renault all declined to comment.

In the year leading up to his arrest, Mr. Ghosn made a number of functions, redeploying executives to oversee operations across the two companies, ranging from manufacturing to aftersales.

Some departments have been so far, such as purchasing, which oversees the entire alliance.

But many of the appointments created new departments, where the two rival groups had previously not co-operated.

The idea is to set the businesses of a joint venture of ever-greater integration, with the aim of achieving synergies of 2022, and thus making the alliance "irreversible".

Since Mr Ghosn 's arrest on charges that he denies, France and Japan have drifted further apart, in part because of an increased strained relationship between the two rival management teams.

"It is fair to say the relationship is 20 years, and that is having an impact on joint operations," said a second person close to the situation.

This is affected by the alliance, with some being slated for closure, while others are simply ignored.

Co-operation between the two sides was always "dependent on goodwill", according to one person, which has evaporated in recent months.

The Financial Times revealed that Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the board, wrote to Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa saying he would use the Japanese carmaker in its annual meeting this Thursday.

The letter marked a new low in relations between the two sides, which has been brought to the fore by Mr Ghosn's removal as the two culturally disparate businesses together.

A new form of collaboration was outlined in April by the new leaders of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, based on individual projects rather than integration of the three companies. It is not clear if any new projects have begun.