[ad_1]
On this archival photo taken on September 12, 2018, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the French Renault group and chairman of the Japanese company Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., poses during a photo shoot at Renault's headquarters in Boulogne -Billancourt, France. (Joel Saget / AFP / Getty Images)
Simon Denyer
Head of the Tokyo office covering Japan, North Korea and South Korea.
TOKYO – Nissan Motors announced on Monday that it was about to fire its president Carlos Ghosn after discovering "serious wrongdoing," including under-reporting his own salary and using the company's assets to his advantage staff.
Ghosn is considered one of the top executives in the automotive industry and one of the highest paid business leaders in Japan. He is widely credited with saving Nissan from near bankruptcy. He is also President and CEO of Renault in France and President of Mitsubishi Motors.
Born in Brazil, of Lebanese origin and French nationality, he is one of the few foreigners to occupy such an important position in Japan.
TV stations NHK and Yomiuri announced that Ghosn had been arrested by Tokyo prosecutors, while the Asahi newspaper reported that prosecutors had begun searching the offices of Nissan Headquarters and other places on Monday night.
Nissan said it has conducted an internal investigation in recent months as a result of a report from a whistleblower regarding misconduct involving Ghosn and the director's representative, Greg Kelly.
"The investigation has shown that for several years, Ghosn and Kelly have stated in the report on securities on the Tokyo Stock Exchange clearing amounts lower than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of compensation from Carlos Ghosn, "the statement said. .
"In addition, with respect to Ghosn, many other serious mistakes were discovered, such as the personal use of the company's assets, and Kelly's deep involvement was also confirmed."
The CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, would propose to the board to eliminate Ghosn and Kelly.
Renault shares fell by more than 10% in Paris, while those of Nissan, listed on the stock market in Germany, fell by nearly 10%.
Ghosn, 64, began his career at the Michelin tire manufacturer in France in 1976 before joining Renault in 1996. He contributed to the transformation of the destiny of the automaker that earned him the nickname "The Cost Killer" .
He joined Nissan in 1999 after Renault acquired a majority stake and became CEO from 2001 to 2017. Mr. Ghosn then left his position as CEO of Nissan while remaining Chairman of the Board. He has become a star in the business world in Japan, even creating a cartoon manga about his life, although he has also attracted criticism for his high salary.
Ghosn was one of the first leaders to defend electric cars. He has also developed a range of low-cost cars for emerging markets.
In June, Renault's shareholders approved Ghosn's € 7.4 million compensation for 2017. It also received the equivalent of more than $ 10 million in its last year as CEO of Nissan .
"Nissan apologizes deeply for having greatly worried our shareholders and our stakeholders. We will continue our work to identify our governance and compliance issues and to take appropriate action, "said the company.
The news is the latest scandal to stain the Nissan brand. In July, it admitted to having discovered falsified emission data from most of its plants in Japan and, in 2017, allowed unqualified personnel to perform post-production tests in some of its plants, the company said. thus obliging to recall more than one million vehicles. reinspection.
Although the company has denied the existence of a direct link between the failure of the appropriate tests and its constant efforts to reduce costs, the head of competition, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, acknowledged at the ## 147 ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 39 "time that he" needed to think about the question of whether there existed at Nissan an environment in which to be tolerated if this entailed a reduction in costs. "
Akiko Kashiwagi contributed to this report.
Read more:
Nissan sees profits drop in sales, offsetting cost reductions
Tesla is no longer the only company creating cool electric vehicles
Today's coverage of Swiss Post correspondents around the world
Love Washington Post World on Facebook and stay up to date on foreign news
[ad_2]
Source link
