Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said that recent calls by some shareholders for his return to the automaker reflected deep frustration with years of failed turnaround efforts, using an interview to deliver a sweeping critique of the company's current leadership. His remarks came days after a shareholder proposal to reinstate him was decisively rejected at Nissan's annual meeting.
Ghosn argued that investors had grown exhausted after a succession of chief executives failed to revive the company since his removal in 2018. He characterized the shareholder agitation as a reasonable response, saying the anger and frustration among investors was palpable. At the company's annual meeting earlier in the week, chief executive Ivan Espinosa faced pointed criticism from shareholders, and at least one investor floated the idea of bringing Ghosn back, an effort that failed as the board won overwhelming backing.
To support his case, Ghosn pointed to a stark deterioration in the company's fortunes. He cited a roughly 80% decline in Nissan's share price since 2018, a fall in annual sales to about three million vehicles from more than five million, and a weakening financial position, alongside plant closures and job cuts. He contended that the company had drifted into slow decision-making and an overly defensive posture, retreating from markets rather than confronting intensifying competition, and warned that without a change of course it risked being reduced to a small affiliate of a larger rival, most likely a Chinese one.
Asked whether he might advise the company again under different circumstances, Ghosn said an advisory role would not be enough, arguing that only a chief executive with real decision-making authority could address what he described as an emergency at the company. He went further, suggesting that he was uniquely suited to the task given his prior experience, while framing the assessment as based on the facts rather than self-regard.
Nissan pushed back. Responding to his comments, the company said it did not address speculative remarks, and maintained that it was making steady progress on its turnaround, had delivered an operating profit in the most recent financial year and continued to hold strong liquidity. Espinosa has emphasized lifting profit per vehicle, aiming to improve profitability even as the company sells fewer cars, a strategy at odds with the volume-focused approach for which Ghosn was both credited and later criticized.
Industry observers were skeptical of any comeback. One analyst suggested the nostalgia behind the shareholder proposal reflected longing for Nissan's stronger years rather than a realistic plan, noting that the automotive industry has changed considerably since Ghosn's era. Nissan is far from alone in its struggles, with other large carmakers also grappling with the costly shift to electric vehicles and competition from lower-cost Chinese manufacturers.
Ghosn's intervention is notable given his circumstances. Once credited with rescuing Nissan after a late-1990s bailout and celebrated as one of the world's best-known executives, his legacy was later clouded by financial-misconduct allegations, which he denies, and he has remained outside Japan since fleeing the country in late 2019. His renewed commentary keeps a long-running saga in the spotlight even as the company insists its recovery is on track.