Nissan Motor Co employees and customers who have long owned its cars said Monday they were stunned and disappointed to hear the news that the company’s charismatic chairman, Carlos Ghosn, has been arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct. At the company headquarters in Yokohama, many employees were seen heading<\/b>
\nNissan Motor Co employees and customers who have long owned its cars said Monday they were stunned and disappointed to hear the news that the company’s charismatic chairman, Carlos Ghosn, has been arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct.
At the company headquarters in Yokohama, many employees were seen heading home quickly in the evening without responding to questions from reporters who had flocked there.
One female employee said following media reports that Ghosn’s arrest was imminent, \u00ab\u00a0It was business as usual inside the company and I didn’t notice anything different. (But) I’m worried how the company will be affected.\u00a0\u00bb
A man working at a Nissan assembly plant in Tochigi Prefecture north of Tokyo said, \u00ab\u00a0To be honest, I’m disgusted with a series of misconduct scandals\u00a0\u00bb involving Nissan, apparently referring to recent scandals over quality checks. \u00ab\u00a0I want the company to be responsible.\u00a0\u00bb
The 64-year-old Ghosn, who holds French citizenship, is credited with leading the Japanese carmaker’s sharp turnaround after becoming the chief operating officer in 1999. He faces allegations of understating his salary in reports submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange and was arrested Monday night by Tokyo prosecutors.
A woman in her 60s who passed by the automaker’s headquarters said she cannot believe Ghosn is suspected of such wrongdoing, given that he has \u00ab\u00a0earned a lot of money.\u00a0\u00bb
A crowd of reporters, photographers and TV crews gathered Monday evening outside a high-rise condominium building in Tokyo’s Minato Ward where Ghosn lives when in Japan.
\u00ab\u00a0Is it true?\u00a0\u00bb said one woman who has seen him in an elevator there. \u00ab\u00a0As he has received a huge amount in remuneration, I think he does not need to underreport anything.\u00a0\u00bb
Japanese fans of Nissan cars were also stunned by the news.
A 47-year-old woman in Tokyo who has owned Nissan cars for 17 years said, \u00ab\u00a0I might consider purchasing from outside Nissan when I replace the current one.\u00a0\u00bb
Yasuyuki Nakayama, a 36-year-old civil servant living in the city of Akita in northeastern Japan, said, \u00ab\u00a0I’m shocked but I want to keep driving Nissan cars because I like them. I don’t want the brand’s reputation to be hurt.\u00a0\u00bb
In the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Reiko Takebayashi, 72, said she had believed Ghosn was \u00ab\u00a0an incredible person\u00a0\u00bb due to his remarkable business achievements.
\u00ab\u00a0I don’t think the incident has anything to do with (product) quality, but still it makes me worried. The image of the carmaker itself has been tarnished,\u00a0\u00bb Takebayashi said.
A car dealer in the western prefecture said the news came \u00ab\u00a0out of the blue.\u00a0\u00bb He said he is usually informed by carmakers beforehand when a recall is to be announced, but he had not heard \u00ab\u00a0anything this time.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0I don’t know what my customers will say,\u00a0\u00bb the dealer said.<\/p>\n