One of the top executives of Nissan Motor Co., who took up the post earlier this month, will leave the company, a source close to the matter said Tuesday, dealing a blow to its new management that is struggling to rebuild following the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Jun Seki, 58, who assumed the Japanese automaker's No. 3 post of vice-chief operating officer on Dec. 1, is widely believed to have had conflict with CEO Makoto Uchida, 53, over how to deal with Renault SA of France, Nissan's largest shareholder that had once pushed for stronger ties through a merger.

Seki is expected to move to Nidec Corp., a Japanese electric motor maker, in February on the promise of becoming its president in the future, the source said.

Unlike Uchida and Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta, Seki, a former senior vice president, has spent his entire career at Nissan.

Seki emerged as a candidate to become the chief executive after CEO Hiroto Saikawa admitted to receiving inflated remuneration and resigned from the post in September.

But Nissan picked Uchida, who joined the carmaker in 2003 from trading house Sojitz Corp. He appears to be seeking amicable ties with Renault, which has a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan.

Gupta, 49, joined the Nissan leadership from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the third partner in the Japanese-Franco alliance.

Seki was expected to spearhead Nissan's turnaround efforts.

Hit by slumping global sales, Nissan has projected a sharp profit fall in the current business year through next March.

Seki is expected to join Nidec as adviser at first, the source said.

Nidec, led by Chairman and CEO Shigenobu Nagamori, has been expanding business through aggressive mergers and acquisitions, while also developing technology for autonomous and other advanced vehicles.

Nagamori, 75, resigned as Nidec president last year and was succeeded by Hiroyuki Yoshimoto, who used to oversee Nissan's operations in Thailand.

==Kyodo

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