Nissan’s Hiroto Saikawa plans to step down as the CEO after admitting to excessive pay

• Nissan Motor’s CEO Hiroto Saikawa is planning to resign from the company, agreeing to his excessive pay offered beyond his entitlement.
  
• He was under the radar for adding 47 million yen ($440,000) to his entitled pay.
  
• Before this, Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on suspicions on financial misconduct.
  
• Nissan said that it will slash over 12,500 jobs globally — including over 1,700 in India.

Nissan Motor’s CEO Hiroto Saikawa is planning to resign from the company, after admitting that he was paid more than what he was entitled to.

Last week, Saikawa agreed to the improper compensation offered to him by the company, which was against the internal procedures. He also apologised to the company and said that “I left the issue to someone else so I had thought it was dealt with in an appropriate manner," ET reported.

He was under the radar for adding 47 million yen ($440,000) to his entitled pay.

This forced the nomination committee of Nissan to headhunt for a potential successor. The nomination committee was formed in June with members from Renault. However, Saikawa’s statement has accelerated the process.

While the slowdown in auto sales has hit the Japanese carmaker largely, the company has been in trouble since November 2018, when its CEO, Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on suspicions on financial misconduct. Ghosn also sued Nissan for ₹1.16 billion saying that it had provided no evidence of misconduct.

“The nominating committee will also meet today and discuss the selection of a successor and the timing of the resignation. Saikawa isn’t at all clinging to his president’s chair. He never has been,” Reuters reported.

The move will likely affect the company’s relations with its shareholder Renault.

In a recent move, the financially-hit Nissan said that it will slash over 12,500 jobs globally — including over 1,700 in India. However, the car maker has not specified the job roles which will be most affected.

See also:
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