Nissan CFO Stephen Ma Steps Down Amid Restructuring Efforts - Bloomberg News

According to Bloomberg News, there is a leadership change at Nissan Motor Co., with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Stephen Ma preparing to leave his position. This development comes after the Japanese automaker recently issued a profit warning and announced a major global restructuring plan that includes eliminating 9,000 job positions and reducing production capacity by 20%.

The company aims to cut costs by $2.6 billion in the current fiscal year to offset declining sales, particularly in its largest two markets, China and the U.S. Ma, who took over as CFO in 2019 following Hiroshi Karube, has not made any statements regarding his departure, and it remains uncertain whether he will stay in a different position at Nissan. The automaker has not issued a formal statement regarding the matter in response to a request for comment.

The recent strategic decisions by the automaker highlight the significant challenges it faces. Nissan has yet to fully recover from the turmoil following the ousting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn in 2018 and the subsequent scaling back of its partnership with Renault. The company’s global sales decreased by 3.8% in the first half of the fiscal year, dropping to 1.59 million vehicles, with a notable 14.3% decline in the Chinese market.

Nissan's challenges in China are exacerbated by the rise of local manufacturers like BYD, which are gaining market share with competitively priced electric vehicles (EVs) and advanced technology hybrid vehicles. In the U.S., Nissan's difficulties are further intensified by its lack of a strong hybrid vehicle range in a segment that has seen increasing demand for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles from Japanese rival Toyota.