Nissan CEO had 30% pay cut since April on supplier payment issue

YOKOHAMA: Nissan Motor Co.’s chief executive officer Makoto Uchida said he’s returned 30% of his salary since April after antitrust regulators reprimanded the Japanese automaker for cutting payments to suppliers.

A committee is investigating the issue and has interviewed Nissan employees, though hasn’t spoken with suppliers yet, Uchida, who takes home about ¥673 million (RM20.2mil) a year, said at a briefing on Friday.

The company also pledged to set up a hot line to field complaints from parts suppliers over payments.

Nissan was reprimanded by the Japan Fair Trade Commission in March over slashing payments to top suppliers by about ¥3 billion (RM90mil) between January 2021 and April last year.

While the automaker said it refunded the amount last January, the antitrust regulator urged Nissan to conduct regular audits and training to prevent future violations.

"The fact that our business partners are sharing concerns shows we have not been doing enough to listen to their challenges,” Uchida said. "I take the matter seriously.”

Nissan’s chief said the company abolished the system under which the payment reductions occurred for some entities in April 2023, and ended it for remaining partners in April this year.

It’s been training its employees and developing prevention measures under the guidance of the FTC, and will present plans to the regulator around June.