TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co is drawing up plans to replace its chief executive officer (CEO) following another dismal set of earnings and the collapse of talks to combine with Honda Motor Co, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nissan directors are gauging interest in potential candidates to succeed Makoto Uchida, the 22-year company veteran who’s been chief executive officer since late 2019, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Nissan declined to comment.
Uchida, 58, told reporters earlier this month that while he was prepared to relinquish his position if asked, he didn’t want to step down before steadying Nissan’s business.
He braced investors for an 80 billion yen net loss for the fiscal year ending in March, a far cry from the 380 billion yen net profit he was forecasting just nine months ago.
Nissan is staring down a record debt bill coming due next year with all three major credit graders having cut its ratings to junk. — Bloomberg
