Nissan CEO vows painful restructuring steps

At a regular general meeting of shareholders at the company's headquarters in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, Espinosa also vowed to turn around the struggling Japanese automaker through the closure of seven plants in and outside Japan and a reduction of 20,000 jobs, which are being considered.

The meeting was attended by 1,071 people, much more than usual.

For over three hours, shareholders grilled Nissan's management with questions over the reasons why the automaker suffered a net loss of 670.8 billion yen in the year that ended this March. Other major topics were the restructuring measures and a total of 600 million yen in retirement allowances paid to former President and CEO Makoto Uchida and three other former executives.

Meanwhile, shareholders approved all proposals made by the company, including one on the appointments of Espinosa and 11 other board directors.

Nissan has been hit by sluggish sales in the United States and China, on top of delays in the development of new vehicle models.

The company's attempt to integrate business operations with Honda Motor Co. fell through in February only after two months of talks, leading to the resignation of Uchida as president and CEO.

Some shareholders asked for a direct explanation from Uchida, but he did not respond.

Espinosa told shareholders that Nissan's strategic collaboration with Honda in areas including electric vehicles will continue.

Yasushi Kimura, an independent outside director, said that while the integration was proposed to win the global competition by utilising the two automakers' brand value, Nissan grew unsure of such a vision.

Hoping to achieve a turnaround, Nissan plans to offer voluntary severance packages in Japan for the first time in 18 years, starting next month.

Asked about a reported plan to close two plants in Kanagawa, Espinosa said nothing has been decided at this point.

Speaking after the meeting, a shareholder in his 60s living in the Kanagawa city of Miura said, "I don't see any substantial measures for a turnaround."

Nissan "would have been better off being a Honda subsidiary," he added.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]