Nissan CEO Steps Down Amid Restructuring
Nissan announced in a statement on Tuesday that CEO Makoto Uchida will step down from his position effective April 1. The current Chief Planning Officer, Ivan Espinosa, will assume the role as his successor.
These management changes come less than a month after the collapse of merger talks between Nissan and Honda. The potential deal, which was valued at $60 billion and would have created the world"s third-largest automaker by sales volume, fell apart due to allegations of Nissan"s inflexibility and its refusal to close factories, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The report indicated that Honda"s attempt to make Nissan a subsidiary, along with pressure to implement deeper workforce reductions at Nissan, added to the uncertainty surrounding the deal"s fate.
Alongside Uchida, several other senior executives will also leave their positions on April 1, including Brand Chief and Customer Officer Asako Hoshino and Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer Hideyuki Watanabe.
Regardless of whether talks with Honda resume, Nissan faces significant challenges in restructuring its operations and getting back on track. The company has already unveiled a restructuring plan that includes cutting 9,000 jobs and reducing global production capacity by 20%, from five million to four million vehicles annually.
At least three factories will be closed, starting with a plant in Thailand in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, followed by two others in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026. Additionally, Nissan is working to reduce shifts at its U.S. factories as part of its efforts to improve efficiency and cut costs.
