Ousted Nissan Chairman Ghosn Files Suit Against Renault

Ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has filed a lawsuit against Renault to claim his retirement rights from the French car manufacturer of which he was the CEO, a role from which he was forced to leave after his arrest in Japan in November 2018.

In two interviews with the French media in Beirut, where he fled to from Japan, Ghosn justified the move on the grounds that he did not formally resign as Renault's boss.

After an exchange of letters between the parties, the former CEO wrote to the Financial Markets Authority of France (AMF) in mid-December because in his opinion Renault's financial communication on his departure was wrong.

Towards the end of December 2019, he took the case to the Labor Magistracy of Boulogne Bilancourt on the outskirts of Paris.

“My resignation from Renault? It's a farce,” he told the newspaper Le Figaro, adding that he initially wanted to settle the dispute in a friendly manner.

“Being held in Japan, I could not leave the company with chaotic governance,” he told Europe 1.

He said that he had to appoint a CEO to replace him and that is why he signed a letter on January 23, 2019 in which he had stated, “I want to retire from my duties to allow the company to restore its governance”.

However, Renault’s board of directors interpreted this as the “resignation” of Ghosn, and released a statement to that effect.

Renault also minimized its former chief's remuneration for the 2018 financial year.

In his letter, Ghosn had stated that he was leaving his duties but not giving up his rights.

In statements given to Europe 1 Ghosn insisted that his letter “was interpreted as a resignation when it was not”.

Renault has commented on the dispute stating that it will lead to a hearing at the end of February 2020.

As far as Ghosn is concerned, his pension rights as former Renault CEO would amount to about 770,000 euros per year.