Nidec Corporation has pledged to divest underperforming divisions including household appliances and automotive motors while pivoting capital toward artificial intelligence, advanced chips, and energy sectors, following an accounting scandal that erased roughly a third of the precision motor manufacturer’s market value.
The strategic overhaul follows the disclosure of more than ¥1.1 trillion ($6.9 billion) in write-downs and charges tied to accounting irregularities. The unfolding financial fallout prompted a controversial leadership shuffle earlier in the week, resulting in the departure of Mitsuya Kishida and the elevation of Michio Kaida to chief technology officer.
Kyoto Press Conference Details Shift to High-Growth Sectors
Speaking at his first public appearance at the company’s headquarters in Kyoto, the 70-year-old Kaida outlined management’s blueprint to restore investor confidence. “Our most pressing priority now is to return to our origins as an enterprise,” Kaida stated during the news conference.
To reverse the prolonged market slide, Nidec intends to redirect corporate resources away from low-profit consumer goods and traditional automotive components. Instead, executive leadership will concentrate heavily on infrastructure markets experiencing surging demand, specifically targeting data center equipment, power generation technology, and advanced energy storage systems.
“We want to allocate our resources and focus management’s efforts on key sectors,” Kaida said, detailing the company’s planned pivot toward the digital infrastructure and green energy supply chains.
Financial Cleanup and Market Rebuilding
As the company prepares to execute the sell-off of its low-margin household appliance and automotive units, market analysts and investors await definitive timelines for the asset divestitures and the formal rollout of capital expenditures earmarked for data centers and energy storage.
