That blunt comment says it all. At a press conference Monday, Mr. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief operating officer, ticked off the company's failings: mismanagement, inefficient production, lack of vision, unappealing products. Their impact has been plain: Nissan, Japan's second largest carmaker, has lost money for six of the last seven years. In 1998, the Nissan group's net loss reached 27.71 billion yen. The company has forecast a net loss of 60 billion yen in this fiscal year. When the Brazilian-born Mr. Ghosn took the top slot at Nissan earlier this year after having turned Renault around, his reputation as "le cost killer" preceded him. This week, he finally got down to business.
The restructuring plan that he and Nissan President Yoshikazu Hanawa revealed on Monday will transform the company. It aims to cut the workforce by 14 percent, pare its 1.4 trillion yen debt in half and return the company to profitability by 2000. Mr. Ghosn forecasts a 4.5 percent profit by 2002.
Specifically, Nissan will close five plants in Japan, cut manufacturing capacity by 30 percent, reduce the number of platforms for making cars from 24 to 15, and overhaul its purchasing structure. That last item is Mr. Ghosn's specialty: He expects it will cut costs by 20 percent, which will account for 60 percent of the savings effected by the reorganization.