“戈恩的时代结束了”：日产董事会在卡洛斯·戈恩被捕后正式解除其董事长职务

据日本放送协会（NHK）报道，日产汽车公司董事会已解除卡洛斯·戈恩的董事长职务。作为业界标志性人物，戈恩被捕引发一片哗然，日产董事会此举意为减轻该事件造成的有害影响。

日本放送协会没有提供更多细节。一位日产发言人拒绝对此发表评论。日本当局于上周一拘捕戈恩，日产董事会在上周四召集会议，就是否将戈恩革职进行投票。目前，戈恩的官方董事身份仍将保留，因为只有股东投票才能将他从董事会中完全除名。

“这是一场政变。”前日产员工、Sawakami Asset Management公司的一名分析师吉田龙夫说。“戈恩的时代结束了。”

事情的起因是日产公司和日本当局对长期担任公司领导人的戈恩被控财务违规事件进行调查，而日产首席执行官西川广人是推动调查的幕后力量。戈恩于上周一在东京突然被捕，在此之前他一直在力促日产与法国合作伙伴雷诺汽车实现完全合并，戈恩本人也是雷诺的首席执行官兼董事长。该合并计划遭到了西川广人的反对，之前戈恩一直以西川广人的导师自居。

如果戈恩不再担任日产董事长，上述合并则几乎不可能实现。这位具有超凡魅力的法国巴西混血高管于20年前一手规划了两家公司的联盟，以在全球范围内与竞争对手进行抗衡。戈恩同时也是联盟的灵魂人物，他的被捕将日方和法方在多年利益更迭中累积的怨气推到了台前。

由于日产财务近期表现强劲，联盟在日本引起的争议越来越大。虽然日产的销量和利润整体超过雷诺，但它在联盟中的影响力要小得多。日产拥有雷诺15％的无表决权股份，而雷诺拥有日产43％的股份，而且是有表决权的股份。2016年，三菱汽车公司加入联盟。

长期以来，日产都对法方影响力过大一事不满意，西川在上周一深夜针对戈恩被捕事件召开的新闻发布会上也提到了这种明显的不平衡。

与之相反，法国方面一直想要维持甚至强化如今的这种关系。法国财政部长布鲁诺·勒梅尔在上周三表示，联盟合作将继续，并将进一步深化。他说，法国政府作为雷诺最大的股东，将“全力支持雷诺和日产的联盟”。

雷诺董事会于上周早些时候也任命了临时领导层，但拒绝解雇戈恩，并表示在获得更多信息之前，应当假定戈恩无罪。雷诺的临时首席执行官蒂埃里·博洛尔说：“联盟对雷诺至关重要，我们将确保完整地延续与联盟各方的合作关系。”（财富中文网）

译者：Agatha

Nissan Motor Co.’s board removed Carlos Ghosn as chairman, the NHK reported, as the directors moved to contain the damage from the iconic executive’s shock arrest.

Japan’s national broadcaster didn’t provide further details. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. The board was meeting last Thursday to vote on Ghosn’s removal. Ghosn, who has been detained by Japanese authorities since last Monday, will officially remain a director, since a shareholder vote is needed to remove him from the board completely.

“It’s a coup,” said Tatsuo Yoshida, an analyst at Sawakami Asset Management, who used to work at Nissan. “Ghosn’s era is over.”

The removal follows probes by Nissan and Japanese authorities into alleged financial misconduct by long-time leader Ghosn, with Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa emerging as a driving force behind the investigation. Prior to his surprise arrest in Tokyo on last Monday, Ghosn had been preparing to push for a full merger of Nissan with French partner Renault SA, which he also heads as CEO and chairman. That combination plan has faced resistance from Saikawa, who Ghosn in the past presented as his protege.

Without Ghosn at the head of Nissan’s board, a merger looks very unlikely. The charismatic French-Brazilian executive was architect and linchpin of the two-decade-old alliance, created as an attempt to add heft against global rivals. Ghosn’s arrest has now laid bare resentments that have built as the Japanese and French sides alternated successes and struggles over the years.

Lately, the structure has become increasingly controversial in Japan due to Nissan’s strong financial performance. Although it’s generally outgrown Renault in sales and profits, the Japanese company has far less influence within the alliance. It owns a 15% non-voting stake in Renault, which in turn owns 43% of Nissan, with voting rights. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. was added to the alliance in 2016.

Nissan has long been unhappy about what it considers an outsize French role, and Saikawa made reference to that perceived imbalance at the late-night press conference he called on last Monday to respond to Ghosn’s arrest.

The French side, conversely, has been keen to maintain — if not intensify — the current relationship. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last Wednesday that the partnership is set to continue and will be deepened. As Renault’s largest shareholder, the French state is “totally attached to the alliance of Renault and Nissan,” he said.

Renault’s board earlier last week put in place new interim leadership but declined to fire Ghosn, saying he should be presumed innocent until more details become available. Interim Renault CEO Thierry Bollore said “the alliance is vitally important for Renault and we will ensure total continuity with our partners.”