Renault shareholders take aim at CEO Ghosn’s salary
PARIS: Shareholders of French car giant Renault were meeting to discuss the pay packet of longserving chief executive Carlos Ghosn, a source of conflict within the company in recent years.
Ghosn, who heads the RenaultNissan- Mitsubishi alliance, earned 7.0 million euros ( US$ 7.8 million) last year, but not before a tussle with Renault shareholders who voted by 54 per cent to reject the Brazilian-born executive’s pay package.
The shareholders’ decision is not binding and the Renault board dismissed their concerns and signed off on Ghosn’s salary.
The then-economy minister Emmanuel Macron, who swept to the French presidency in May, was a frequent critic of Ghosn’s pay and the two also clashed over the state’s influence over the carmaker.
Representatives for the government, which is Renault’s biggest shareholder with a stake of nearly 20 per cent, are expected to vote against Ghosn’s pay packet on Thursday, finance ministry sources said.
Ghosn announced in February he was stepping aside as chief executive of Nissan after being widely credited with helping to save it from collapse, although he continues to lead the global alliance which added Japan’s Mitsubishi to its ranks last year.
Some Renault shareholders are also likely to voice opposition to a proposal by Renault-Nissan, revealed by Reuters, to pay its top executives bonuses through a company based in the Netherlands.
Renault-Nissan said no decision on such a system had yet been taken.
Renault’s profits leaped 20 per cent in 2016, driven by strong sales with net profit jumping by 19.7 per cent to 3.54 billion euros. — AFP