Nissan CFO Stephen Ma to Depart Amid Financial Challenges and Strategic Adjustments
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan Motor Co.’s Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Ma, is expected to step down from his role, as reported by Bloomberg News citing unnamed sources. The departure comes at a critical time for the automaker, which recently announced a profit warning and significant cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of 9,000 jobs and a 20% reduction in global production capacity.
It remains uncertain whether Ma will leave the company entirely or transition to a different role. When contacted, both Ma’s office and Nissan declined to provide any comments.
Ma has served as CFO since 2019, succeeding Hiroshi Karube shortly after the appointment of Makoto Uchida as CEO. His tenure coincided with a turbulent period for Nissan, marked by declining sales, financial challenges, and intense market competition. The company reported a 3.8% drop in global sales during the first half of the financial year, with a sharp 14.3% decline in the Chinese market.
Nissan has been grappling with mounting challenges in its key markets, including a lack of competitive hybrid models in the U.S., a stark contrast to Toyota, which has seen robust demand for its hybrid offerings. As a result, Nissan revised its operating income forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2024 to ¥150 billion ($1 billion), a significant reduction of 70% from its previous estimate.
The automaker’s current restructuring efforts are part of a broader strategy to manage financial instability and regain market confidence. The difficulties have been exacerbated by the aftermath of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s controversial departure in 2018 and a scaling back of its partnership with Renault. Despite these challenges, Nissan has recently promoted Guillaume Cartier to the role of Chief Performance Officer, effective December 1, to strengthen its leadership during this critical period.
Stephen Ma is a Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. executive officer and the company’s CFO. In his role, Ma oversees Nissan’s global financial activities, Global IS/IT, Investor Relations and Operations Performance.
As the fifth-largest automaker in Japan by market value, Nissan’s market capitalization has fallen significantly from its peak of nearly ¥6 trillion in 2015 to approximately ¥1.5 trillion today. The company continues to face significant pressure from local manufacturers in China, such as BYD, which have gained ground with affordable and technologically advanced electric vehicles.
Nissan’s restructuring plans, which include a $2.6 billion cost reduction target for the fiscal year, highlight the scale of the challenges it faces. Despite these hurdles, CEO Makoto Uchida remains committed to steering the company through these uncertain times.
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Nov 30 (Reuters) – Nissan Motor’s (7201.T), opens new tab CFO Stephen Ma is set to step down, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter, weeks after the Japanese automaker issued a profit warning and announced plans to cut thousands of jobs globally.
It is unclear whether Ma will leave the automaker or be demoted, the report said, adding his office had declined to comment.
Nissan declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Ma became Nissan’s finance chief in 2019, replacing Hiroshi Karube, weeks after it named the head of its China business, Makoto Uchida, as its next chief executive.
Nissan said earlier this month that it will cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global manufacturing capacity, as it scrambles to reduce costs by $2.6 billion in the current fiscal year amid a sales slump in China and the U.S., its two biggest markets.
The plans underline the vulnerability of the automaker, having never fully recovered from the disarray and internal strife that led to the 2018 ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and scaling back of the partnership with Renault SA (RENA.PA), opens new tab.
Nissan’s global sales fell 3.8% to 1.59 million vehicles for the first half of the financial year, largely due to a 14.3% drop in China.
Like many foreign automakers, it is struggling in China where BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab and other local manufacturers are gobbling up market share with affordable EVs and hybrids that boast advanced technology.
But Nissan’s bigger problem may be in the United States, where it lacks a credible line-up of hybrid cars. That’s in contrast to Japanese rival Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab, which has seen a boom in demand for gasoline-electric hybrid cars.