The world's preoccupation with the Carlos Ghosn affair hides in plain sight the pathetic state of Nissan Motor Co.'s business and the value destruction that has continued since his arrest.
In a video message released Tuesday, the company's deposed chairman spent much of his time talking about what's going on at Nissan rather than addressing the growing pile of allegations against him. Ghosn reflected on the carmaker's dismal performance, recent profit warnings and emissions scandals. He claimed that when he had approached executives about what was going wrong, "the company would say the problems were fixed when they were not fixed. This is where we had a problem with the management."
Clearly Ghosn is keen to show that Nissan's leadership, led by Hiroto Saikawa, had a motive for ousting him. Rumors have swirled that Ghosn had wanted to get rid of Saikawa, prompting the company's executives to go public with the initial allegations against their then-chairman. But putting aside all of the blame and counter-blame, Ghosn is right to focus on Nissan's business, and the recent damage to its brand and shareholder value.
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