Court orders Ghosn to pay Euro 5 million to Nissan-Mitsubishi

The court stated that Ghosn did not have a valid employment agreement with the joint venture, as it lacked the required consent of the boards of Nissan and Mitsubishi. The court found that Ghosn had wrongfully determined his own salary and sign-on bonus at NMBV.

In July 2019, we had reported that Carlos Ghosn - the former chairman of Nissan has filed a lawsuit against his former employers Nissan and Mitsubishi in the Netherlands, seeking Euro 15 million in damages. Now, the case has backfired and a Dutch court has ordered Ghosn to repay Euro 5 million in wages to Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Ghosn had claimed the Dutch-registered joint venture Nissan-Mitsubishi BV (NMBV) had violated Dutch labour laws when he was dismissed in 2019. He demanded a compensation of Euro 15 million for missed wages and severance payments.

However, the district court ruled the case in favour of NMBV. It stated that Ghosn did not have a valid employment agreement with the joint venture, as it lacked the required consent of the boards of Nissan and Mitsubishi. The court has ordered Ghosn to repay the Euro 5 million he received from the joint venture from April to November 2018 in net payments.

The court found that Ghosn had wrongfully determined his own salary and sign-on bonus at NMBV. It also found that the member of the board who had signed his employment contract on behalf of Nissan and Mitsubishi did not have the power to do so.

Carlos Ghosn plans to appeal the verdict.