Ghosn arrest lays bare frustration at Nissan

TOKYO: With Carlos Ghosn’s arrest, frustrations over the tycoon’s management style have burst into the open within Nissan, with some staff also weary of playing second fiddle to Renault and its French-state backers.

Rumblings within Nissan have grown in intensity since the beginning of the year, analysts say, as the 64-year-old Brazil-born Frenchman appeared to be moving towards a complete merger with Renault that would be unpopular in the Japanese firm.

Renault is the dominant player in the alliance, owning 43 per cent of Nissan stock, but the Japanese firm now brings more turnover to the table – only intensifying a power-struggle between the firms.

One former staff member who worked for Nissan for 10 years told AFP on condition of anonymity: “Internally, we felt the tensions, even if they didn’t appear on the outside.”

Some Nissan staff increasingly had the impression their hard-won profits were being used to prop up their French big brother.

For example, there was some resentment when the Nissan Micra was ordered to be built in a Renault factory just outside Paris or when the Nissan Rogue crossover destined for the US market was constructed by a South-Korean Renault subsidiary.

“Bringing services together is wonderful but in practice, it is not that easy. Renault and Nissan people started saying that the integration Ghosn was leading us towards will not work,” said the former employee.

Another staff member, speaking to public broadcaster NHK, was even more blunt.

“I don’t feel any merit to working with Renault. In my opinion, many Nissan employees feel they don’t want to work with Renault,” he said.

Ghosn also drew fire with some in Japan for what was perceived as a lavish lifestyle and brash management style – both of which run counter to Japanese corporate culture.

The staff member cited by NHK complained that Ghosn prohibited employees from receiving gifts or being wined and dined, and that the former chairman had ordered them to submit a written pledge to this effect.

Another former employee told AFP that Ghosn put ‘incredible’ pressure on his staff.

“He humiliated people in public all the time with massive tellingsoff in front of everyone. No one could say anything but resentment grew.” — AFP