Ex-Nissan Chairman Ghosn Says Shareholders Want Him Back, Blames Current Leadership for Company's Decline

Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn stated that some shareholders want him to return to the company, arguing that current management has failed to reverse its decline since his ouster in 2018. Ghosn noted that Nissan’s share price has fallen by approximately 80% since 2018, annual sales have dropped from over 5 million vehicles to around 3 million, and the company has shuttered plants and carried out large-scale layoffs—evidence, he said, of leadership that has “squandered value and lost its way.” He criticized the three successive CEOs for failing to effectively drive a recovery and said investors have “reached their breaking point.” At Nissan’s annual general meeting on June 25, current CEO Ivan Espinosa faced tough questioning from shareholders, with at least one investor proposing Ghosn’s return. The proposal was ultimately rejected, as shareholders overwhelmingly backed the existing board. Ghosn led Nissan’s revival starting in 1999 and was widely praised for rescuing the company from the brink of bankruptcy. In 2018, he was arrested in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct and fled to Lebanon in late 2019, where he remains. He has consistently denied all charges, claiming he was the victim of a conspiracy between Nissan executives and Japanese authorities. Regarding the current situation, Ghosn asserted that serving merely as an advisor would not save Nissan; only by returning as CEO with full decision-making authority could he implement the necessary reforms. He warned that without change, Nissan risks becoming a subsidiary of a larger corporation—particularly a Chinese one. Nissan responded by saying it would not comment on Ghosn’s “speculative remarks,” emphasizing that its turnaround plan is progressing steadily, that it posted an operating profit in the last fiscal year, and that it maintains strong liquidity.