Mitsubishi Motors' board of directors meets Monday to dismiss President Ghosn

TOKYO (Reuters) – Mitsubishi Motors Corp's (7211.T), the council will meet on Monday to remove Carlos Ghosn from his post as president after his arrest and ouster of alliance partner, Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) last week for alleged financial misconduct.

The removal of Ghosn by the eight-member Mitsubishi board of directors, which meets at the manufacturer's headquarters in Tokyo at 4:30 pm (7:30 GMT), would end its chairmanship of Japanese automakers in the midst of discontent by the French partner Renault SA (RENA.PA) role in the alliance.

The dismissal of Ghosn would also mark the removal of the man who would have stabilized Mitsubishi Motors after being shaken by a cheating scandal in 2016.

The top leaders of the alliance are meeting this week in Amsterdam to protect their joint operations from the fallout of the arrest of Ghosn as the power relationship between Nissan and Renault looms.

Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa told staff Monday that the concentration of power in Ghosn meant a lack of direct communication between other members of the alliance's board of directors, said a familiar person with the contents of the town hall.

Nissan said it did not disclose details of internal events or communications to employees.

Although sales were nearly 60% higher than Renault sales, Nissan remains junior in its shareholding structure. Ghosn pleaded for a closer rapprochement, including a possible merger between the two manufacturers at the request of the French government, despite strong reservations expressed by the Japanese firm.

Nissan holds a 34% majority stake in Mitsubishi Motors and has two executives. The other representative is the CEO, Osamu Masuko, who said last week that the alliance could be difficult to manage without Ghosn.

Nissan dismissed Ghosn at a high stakes board meeting on Thursday, but Renault has refrained from dismissing him as chairman of the board of directors. Ghosn denied the charges against him, the state broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.

While automakers pointed out that operations and operations were proceeding normally, Nissan has postponed the launch of its high-performance Leaf electric car in order to ensure that this important product unveiling can benefit from the coverage that it offers. 39 it deserves, "said a spokesman for Nissan.