Nissan Stockholders To Go Hungry

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

On June 29, Nissan will hold its annual stockholders meeting. Usually, there is a party after the meeting where stockholders and media are being fed a light meal. This time, they better bring a sandwich.

Or a bento-box, as this is Japan. Nissan “decided to cancel the event on June 29 and use the money saved to support reconstruction in areas hit by the March 11 earthquake,” The Nikkei [sub] heard.

Too bad. With the healthy profits announced on May 12, this would have been a great occasion for a party. And with the Japanese car industry reeling from the aftershocks of the March 11 tragedy, we probably will be looking at new austerity programs, like those chronicled two years ago by Reuters’ auto correspondent Ran Kim. Soon, they’ll be cutting erasers in half again.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Salomervich Salomervich on May 30, 2011

    Mr. Ghosn looks very Hitler-like in that photo...

    • Tallnikita Tallnikita on May 31, 2011

      That's just such not a right thing to say about anyone. Hitler, really, the person who killed millions in ethnic cleansing? Get a clue.

  • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on May 30, 2011

    ... Hitler? Mouse over the picture ....

  • CarPerson CarPerson on May 31, 2011

    Do a search on Nissan Pathfinder Transmission. You'll get 49,000 hits. One second after the warranty expires, Nissan kindly tells you what you can do with the $4,000 repair cost. Surely some of the huge profits from the parts sales is getting back to Japan. Surely.

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