Nissan and North America

[Ishpeck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/business...=rssnyt&emc=rss

[Trainman]

Here is the article:

 

Nissan Chief Gives Up North American Duties

 

 

By MICHELINE MAYNARD

Published: March 16, 2007

 

DETROIT, March 16 — Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn is to give up his responsibility for Nissan’s North American operations, and focus on leading Nissan and Renault of France, which he also runs, Nissan said today.

 

The move comes a month after Nissan warned that it expected to post lower profits for the 2006 fiscal year, the first drop since Mr. Ghosn became its chief executive in 2001.

 

Mr. Ghosn’s decision to lighten his duties came as Nissan said it would cut production at two plants in Japan, moving from two shifts to one at each factory.

 

Mr. Ghosn also serves as the chief executive of France’s Renault, which has embarked on its own recovery plan in the face of declining sales and profits. Until now, Mr. Ghosn has divided his time between Tokyo, where Nissan is based; Paris, the headquarters of Renault; and Nashville, Tenn., where Nissan moved its North American headquarters last year from California.

 

But in a news release, Nissan said his duties for North America would be assumed by Hiroto Saikawa, the vice president in charge of Nissan’s European operations, beginning April 1.

 

Mr. Ghosn would focus on the overall strategy for both Renault and Nissan, said Nissan, which shuffled its management team.

 

In the statement, Mr. Ghosn said, “The priority for our new management team is to act decisively on the multiple challenges facing Nissan and to boost our overall performance in 2007.”

 

Frederique LeGreves, a spokeswoman for Nissan North America, said the management changes were part of a normal review by Nissan. The company usually leaves senior managers in place for two years. However, Mr. Ghosn had not made changes for three years and felt it was time for executives to be reassigned.

 

“I think it was the right time for him” to take those steps, Ms. LeGreves said. “And it’s just the right time for him to focus on the bigger picture for Nissan and Renault. He will continue to watch the U.S. very closely.”

 

Ms. LeGreves said Mr. Saikawa would be based in Japan, where he also is in charge of Nissan’s purchasing operations, leaving day-to-day responsibilities for North America to Nissan executives here.

 

Mr. Ghosn became a global figure in the automobile industry for his stunning turn around this decade at Nissan. Named its president after Renault took management control in 1999, Mr. Ghosn implemented three successive restructuring plans, which collectively cut the company’s debt, improved its profits and expanded its global sales, particularly in the United States, where Mr. Ghosn put himself in overall charge of its operations.

 

But as Nissan was rising, problems occurred at Renault, where Mr. Ghosn had led a turnaround in the 1990s that honed his reputation as a restructuring specialist. Last year, Mr. Ghosn announced a recovery plan for Renault and began leading both companies.

 

Meanwhile, Nissan’s sales fell last year in the United States, where it experienced a product drought after a relentless push of new vehicles over the past few years.

 

In the midst of that, Mr. Ghosn joined forces last summer with Kirk Kerkorian, then the largest shareholder at General Motors, to propose a three-way alliance between G.M., Renault and Nissan. But the discussions fell apart after G.M. demanded an up front payment from Renault and Nissan to account for the value that it thought those two companies would gain from an arrangement.

 

Though Mr. Ghosn had said he might seek another North American partner, he has since backed away from the idea of expanding the Renault-Nissan alliance. Neither company has taken part in discussions with DaimlerChrysler, which is talking to potential bidders for the Chrysler Group, a sale that may take place as soon as this spring.

 

[in response to a sharp slide in its domestic sales, Nissan said today that it would move to a single shift between April and June at the Oppama and Tochigi plants, which assemble about a dozen models ranging from the March subcompact to the Infiniti Q45 sport-utility vehicle, The Associated Press reported].

[k9sar]

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