Nissan’s executive to quit in blow to revival efforts
THE SENIOR executive in charge of plans to revive crisis-hit Nissan has decided to quit just weeks after taking the job, sending the carmaker’s stock plunging more than three per cent on Wednesday.
Jun Seki, 58, number three at Nissan, had informed them of his decision to leave and the company had accepted it, the automaker said in a statement.
Seki, currently executive officer and vice chief operating officer, is expected to become president of major electric components maker Nidec, according to a source close to Nissan.
Ashwani Gupta, chief operating officer and number two at Nissan, should take the responsibility for the recovery plan instead of Seki, the source said.
Struggling to rebuild itself after former chief Carlos Ghosn’s financial scandal, Nissan just started its new management under chief executive and president Makoto Uchida on December 1.
The company said Wednesday it “has been on a steady path to regain trust, restore the company’s performance and work on its business transformation, and is already seeing progress.”
“Under the new top management, Nissan will continue to focus on these key areas, which remain our highest priority,” it said in the statement.
But investors were not convinced. Nissan shares plunged 3.09 per cent to 633.4 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Makoto Sengoku, market a na lyst at Toka i Tok yo Resea rch Inst it ute, sa id Sek i’s resig nat ion ca me at “a n i mpossible t iming.”
“He was the number 3 and was supposed to be a central figure to drive the reform. It was inevitable that such a man’s departure spawned caution towards Nissan,” Sengoku said.
“It ’s a n urgent ta sk for Nissa n to reva mp it sel f but t here is a doubt over how stable it s leadersh ip is,” he sa id.
Nissan, in a t hree-way a lliance with Mitsubishi Motors and France’s Renault, last month slashed its f ullyear forecast for both sa les and profit as it struggles with weak demand in
Japan, the US and Europe, as well as fa llout from t he arrest of Ghosn.
Ghosn was arrested for alleged financial misconducts in November last year and is awaiting his trial which may start around April.
His former right-hand man, Hiroto Saikawa, resigned in September as t he chief executive af ter an investigation prompted by the Ghosn scandal revealed that he was among Nissan executives who received excess pay by a ltering t he terms of a share price bonus.