French car maker Renault on Friday sacked Chief Executive Thierry Bollore with immediate effect.
A short statement on the company’s website gave no reason for the move and said Chief financial officer Clotilde Delbos is taking over as interim chief executive.
Bollore, the former second-in-command, took up the chief executive job in January after the downfall of long-standing chairman and chief executive Carlos Ghosn.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct at partner firm Nissan.
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In a Thursday evening interview with business newspaper Les Echos hours after a board meeting was announced, Bollore denounced what he described as a totally unexpected coup.
Newspaper Le Figaro had reported on Tuesday that Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who unlike Bollore was drafted in from outside the group to take over part of Ghosn’s role, wanted the chief executive replaced.
The decision came days after Nissan appointed a new president and chief executive, Makoto Uchida, its former head of operations in China.
The downfall of Ghosn, who headed both firms, has put their 20-year-old alliance, in which Renault is the dominant partner, under strain. (NAN)