Uber barred from sacking 10 staff who refused to take redundancy

DutchNews, November 23, 2020 

Online taxi agency Uber has been refused permission to sack workers at its international headquarters in Amsterdam, the NRC has reported. 

State jobs agency UWV, which has to assess all formal applications for redundancy, has ruled that there were no valid grounds for dismissal because the company could not demonstrate that the downturn in the workload was structural. 

The UWV also referred to comments made by Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who told a staff meeting on September 1 that the job cuts, first announced in May, were more severe than strictly necessary. 

The decision is being seen as a vindication for some 10 Uber workers who refused to leave when the company pressured almost 200 staff in Amsterdam into leaving before the redundancies had been approved by the UVW. 

Uber announced in May that it would sack 25% of its 27,000 global workforce as the coronavirus pandemic has led to an 80% drop in its revenue. Some 1,000 people work for Uber in Amsterdam, mainly in app development, design, marketing and sales. 

The company applied to the UWV for approval for the redundancies, as required by Dutch redundancy law, but before the agency could rule, nearly all the workers who were being let go had already signed the relevant paperwork and been paid off, the NRC said earlier this month. 

Systems 

‘The workers who were affected were shut out of all the company’s systems the day after they were told they had to leave,’ the paper said. ‘They were also given a daily reminder about signing the agreement and told that their job would cease to exist.’ 

Many were expats from outside the EU with little knowledge of Dutch labour law, the paper said. 

Uber has not yet commented on the UWV’s findings. However, the FNV union’s spokesman on taxi platforms, Amrit Sewgobind, told the NRC he was very pleased with the UWV’s decision.

‘This shows a powerful company like Uber has to comply with Dutch redundancy law if it wants to sack staff,’ he said.

Qatar faces scrutiny after women 'forcibly examined'

Yahoo – AFP, Gregory Walton, October 27, 2020 

Qatar Airways crew prepare to enter Sydney international airport to fly a repatriation
flight back to France on April 2, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Qatar Airways crew prepare to enter Sydney international airport to fly a repatriation flight back to France on April 2, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Revelations that passengers flying through Doha were forced to endure vaginal inspections have upended Qatar's efforts to boost its reputation before the Gulf state hosts World Cup 2022, experts say. 

Officers marched women off a Sydney-bound Qatar Airways flight earlier this month and forced them to undergo intimate examinations after a newborn baby was found abandoned in an airport bathroom. 

The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Australia and Qatar and comes as a setback for the gas-rich emirate, which has worked extensively to grow its soft power. 

Doha has invested heavily in its airline, Al-Jazeera broadcaster and social projects that include women's health and educational initiatives. 

But the conservative Muslim monarchy, where sex and childbirth out of wedlock are still punishable by jail, has struggled to reassure critics that its promises on women's rights, labour relations and democracy are credible. 

Mark Gell, founder of Sydney-based consultancy Reputation Edge, said "it could get out of hand from a reputational point of view for the airline", the state-run Qatar Airways. 

"Was it the airline's responsibility? We don't know. But absolutely it could impact their business," he told AFP. 

"If I shared this with my wife, I'm sure she'd turn around and say 'I'm never going through there again'." 

Adverts packed with top-flight footballers including Neymar have aired worldwide, touting Qatar Airways' extensive network, ultra-modern aircraft and glitzy Doha airport hub. 

World Cup 2022 host Qatar has struggled to reassure critics that its promises
on women's rights, labour relations and democracy are credible

Australia is a particularly important market for the carrier, which before the coronavirus pandemic served six cities Down Under and promoted repatriation flights for stranded nationals when other airlines grounded their fleets. 

'Avoid Qatar Airways' 

Alex Oliver of Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute said Australians -- especially women -- would "avoid Qatar Airways like the plague" after the October 2 incident. 

"It's a shocking move from a country that has spent billions of state funds on attempting to convey perceptions of a more liberal Gulf state," she said. 

But it is sport on which Qatar has staked its reputation, winning not just the 2022 World Cup and bidding for summer Olympics but also pouring cash into developing sport in poorer countries. 

Qatar has nonetheless had to contain several public relations crises in recent years linked to its shock victory in the competition to host the 2022 football tournament. 

As it began to ramp up construction, rights groups condemned Qatar's treatment of the hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers recruited from South Asia and other developing countries. 

Activists have long called on Qatar to decriminalise "love cases", women who become pregnant outside of marriage and give birth without the help of medics who are required to report such cases. 

Human Rights Watch told AFP Qatar should "examine the policy that led to the event in the first place".

Doha has invested heavily in its airline, Al-Jazeera broadcaster and social
projects to boost its image

'Betrayed' 

The ultra-wealthy country of 2.75 million people has also faced scrutiny over LGBT rights, jihadist fundraising, and its overseas military interventions since its 2010 victory in the battle to host the global soccer spectacle. 

Qatar's government has yet to address the airport allegations, despite a furious rebuke by Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne who called the incident "grossly disturbing, offensive (and) concerning". 

Late on Sunday, airport management released a statement claiming that "individuals who had access to the specific area of the airport where the newborn infant was found were asked to assist in the query". 

It gave no details about the procedures they were required to undergo and made no apology for the incident, but said the child was still alive and being cared for. 

Gell said it would not be enough for the airport management to downplay the allegations and suggest the women had merely been asked to help trace the abandoned baby's mother. 

"That's not going to hold up. In fact, that'll probably inflame it, to suggest that these women have voluntarily done this. I would find that difficult to believe," he said. 

Oliver said she was surprised the response "was so hardline and intransigent". 

"With the World Cup now getting very close, you would expect it to be back-pedalling madly." 

Expatriate women in Doha have reacted with shock and fear to the disclosures. 

"I can't help but think of my daughters if they had been on that plane," said one expatriate woman living in Doha who declined to be named for fear of retribution. 

"It makes me sick. I feel betrayed by the country I call home," said another.

Pakistan's PIA suspended in Europe over fake pilot licence scandal

Yahoo – AFP, Ashraf KHAN, June 30, 2020

Pakistan's PIA has been barred from operating in the European Union after the
 state-run carrier grounded nearly a third of its pilots for holding fake or dubious
licences (AFP Photo/FAROOQ NAEEM)

Regulators have barred Pakistan International Airlines from the European Union for six months after the state-run carrier grounded nearly a third of its pilots for holding fake or dubious licences, officials said Tuesday.

The EUAviation Safety Agency (EASA) told PIA "it is still not sure" if all the remaining pilots are properly qualified, and "they have lost their confidence" in the airline, PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan told AFP.

The suspension is the latest fallout for PIA after Pakistan's aviation minister told parliament last week that a government review had found 262 of the country's 860 active pilots hold fake licenses or cheated on exams.

More than half of them were from PIA, and the airline said it would immediately ground 141 of its 434 pilots.

The EASA said it had suspended PIA and a smaller private Pakistan airline "in view of the recent investigation reported on in the Pakistani Parliament which revealed that a large share of pilot licenses issued in Pakistan are invalid".

PIA is filing an appeal, Khan said.

The airline has only flown limited international flights for months as a result of the coronavirus. A resumption of domestic operations last month was followed by a crash blamed on pilot error that killed 98 people.

PIA had recently resumed bookings for five European capital cities, including Paris, Milan and Barcelona.

Flights to Britain, which is no longer in the EU, have also been suspended, Khan said.

The EASA said it suspended PIA "due to concerns about the capability of competent authorities to ensure that Pakistani air operators are in compliance with applicable international standards at all times".

Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, a senior figure in the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, said PIA's woes had "put the country's reputation at stake".

"The decision of the European Union is the result of successive follies of incompetent rulers," Ahmed said in a statement.

Reforms 'inevitable'

Prime Minister Imran Khan told parliament he would reform PIA and other government institutions.

"I want to tell my nation: We have no other option, reforms are inevitable," he said Tuesday.

Aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has promised that a restructuring of PIA would be completed by the end of the year.

On May 22, a PIA flight crashed into houses in Karachi, killing 97 people aboard the plane and a child on the ground.

Investigators blamed the pilots, who were chatting about the coronavirus while they first attempted to land the Airbus A320 without putting its wheels down.

Until the 1970s, Pakistan's largest airline was considered a top regional carrier but its reputation plummeted amid chronic mismanagement, frequent cancellations and financial struggles.

PIA, which is helmed by a serving air force officer, currently has a fleet of 31 planes and a payroll of about 14,500 workers.

The high staff-to-plane ratio has seen long-standing accusations the government and the military use the airline to dish out jobs to cronies and retired military officers.

Even before the coronavirus, PIA was in a financial mess, and the EU suspension will only make things worse.

The airline racked up $340 million in losses last year, compared to $266 million in 2018.

New Dutch law allows mass claim against Volkswagen over Dieselgate

DutchNews, March 17, 2020 - By Robin Pascoe 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

A Dutch foundation is taking car maker Volkswagen to court on behalf of 8.5 million car owners to demand compensation for manipulating emissions tests in the Dieselgate scandal. 

The Diesel Emissions Justice Foundation is taking advantage of new legislation in the Netherlands allowing mass claims and giving plaintiffs the right to go to court if the company concerned refuses to reach a settlement. 

Robert Bosch, the company which developed the software used to fiddle the emissions reports, car importer Pon and a number of Dutch car dealers are also named on the legal documents. 

In autumn 2015, Volkswagen admitted that it had sold 11 million cars worldwide with secret ‘defeat device’ software that ensured it would pass emissions tests in a laboratory, while the cars emitted higher levels of pollution on the road. 

‘This law offers access to justice for millions of injured customers, both within and outside the Netherlands,’ said the foundation’s managing director Femke Hendriks in a statement. ‘Volkswagen has rejected our invitation to engage in negotiations, which compels us to go all the way.’ 

The car company’s actions, she said, had caused ‘tremendous harm’ to consumers, the environment and public health. ‘It is time for Volkswagen to be presented with the bill for its fraudulent actions across Europe.’ 

Fines 

Volkswagen has already paid billions in damages and fines as a result of legal proceedings in the US, Australia, Canada and South Korea but has largely escaped in Europe. 

In February the company agreed to pay out €830m to 400,000 drivers following a case brought by German consumer groups. 

‘This is the first time that Volkswagen has taken responsibility for its actions in Europe and is attempting to dispel the past, although only for a small part of affected consumers and for relatively small amounts,’ Hendriks said. 

In 2017, the Dutch consumer and markets association fined Volkswagen €450,000 for ‘unfair commercial practices’ for advertising cars as eco-friendly ‘while the results of emission tests had been manipulated by illegal software.’ 

No basis 

Volkswagen told DutchNews.nl in a reaction that when the case starts, Volkswagen will defend itself, ‘as it believes there is no basis for the compensation of damages or other remedies for consumers in the Netherlands’. 

‘Our customers in the Netherlands have not suffered any loss or damage, as all cars can be used in traffic and are safe,’ the statement said. ‘They are still driven by more than a hundred thousand customers every day. All necessary approvals are valid and in place. For these reasons, we see no legal basis for customer complaints. This new initiative does not change this position.’

Boeing ousts Muilenburg, names Chair David Calhoun as CEO

Yahoo – AFP, December 23, 2019

Boeing replaced Dennis Muilenburg as CEO amid the protracted 737 MAX
crisis (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

New York (AFP) - Boeing on Monday replaced its embattled chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, saying a change was necessary as it attempts to restore its reputation amid the protracted 737 MAX crisis.

Boeing named board Chairman David Calhoun as chief executive and president, saying the company needed to "restore confidence" and "repair relationships with regulators, customers and all other stakeholders."

The company pledged to "operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA, other global regulators and its customers."

The aerospace giant's financial picture remains clouded following the global grounding of the MAX in March after two deadly crashes.

The move comes a week after Boeing took the monumental step of temporarily shutting down MAX production because of the crisis, which has pushed the aircraft's return to the skies into 2020.

Muilenburg will exit the company immediately but Calhoun, a former General Electric aviation executive, will not take the CEO post until January 13, 2020, while he exits existing commitments, Boeing said in a news release.

During that period, Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith will serve as interim CEO.

Muilenburg's response to the crisis has been increasingly criticized as the MAX grounding has dragged on far longer than initially expected as more disturbing details have dribbled out about the certification of the MAX.

He has also been seen as tone deaf and awkward towards families of the 346 people killed in the crashes.

After enduring two withering congressional hearings in the fall, Muilenburg's leadership came under further scrutiny this month when the Federal Aviation Administration called the company out for overly-optimistic timeframe for restoring the MAX that the agency said created the perception that Boeing was trying "to force FAA into taking quicker action."

Boeing shares jumped 3.4 percent to $339.13 in early trading on the news.

The company took another hit to its reputation over on Sunday when its Starliner spacecraft landed six days early after a failed mission to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Boeing CEO grilled on Capitol Hill after MAX crashes

Yahoo – AFP, Luc Olinga with John Biers in New York, October 29, 2019

Family members of those who died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 hold
photographs of their loved ones as Dennis Muilenburg (R), president and CEO
of the Boeing Company, testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee
(AFP Photo/WIN MCNAMEE)

Washington (AFP) - Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg faced a barrage of criticism from US lawmakers Tuesday at a jammed hearing on the company's commitment to safety as family members of victims of two deadly MAX 737 crashes looked on.

In his first appearance before Congress since the 737 MAX was grounded in March, Muilenburg apologized for the crashes and acknowledged shortcomings, but broadly defended Boeing's development of the ill-fated aircraft.

Senators from both parties signaled clear dissatisfaction, bordering on rage in some cases.

"Boeing is the company that built the flying fortress that saved Europe," said Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former National Guard helicopter pilot who lost both legs during the Iraq War.

"You have told this committee and you told me half-truths over and over again," said Duckworth, who represents Illinois, home to Boeing's corporate headquarters. "You have not told us the whole truth and these families are suffering because of it."

Muilenburg stuck to the company's longstanding stance that development of the MAX followed time-tested company procedures and defended it against charges that it cut corners on safety and was too cozy with regulators the Federal Aviation Administration.

Many analysts view the hearings as a can't-win situation for Muilenburg and expect him to exit the company in the foreseeable future, most likely after the MAX returns to service.

Asked by a reporter if he would resign, Muilenburg said, "That's not where my focus is. My focus is on the job at hand focused on safety. And we're going to do everything we can to ensure safe flight."

But Nadia Milleron, who lost her daughter on the Ethiopian Airlines crash, said the company needs a shakeup.

Muilenburg "needs to resign. The whole board needs to resign," she said. "I expect him to stop putting the blame on the FAA and other people because that is what they always do. They don't take responsibility."

Boeing president and CEO, Dennis Muilenburg arrives at a Senate hearing 

on the 737 MAX after two deadly crashes (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Passing the buck?

Many of the questions focused on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, an automated system that Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines pilots were unable to control, resulting in crashes.

"We have learned from both accidents and we've identified changes that need to be made to MCAS," Muilenburg told the Senate Commerce Committee.

But Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, lambasted Muilenburg as he struggled to answer pointed questions about 2016 texts from Boeing pilot Mark Forkner to a colleague that discussed the "egregious" performance of the MCAS during a simulation test and said that he "basically lied to the regulators."

Muilenburg indicated that Boeing counsel shared the documents with the Justice Department in February, but that he did not see the specific exchange until it was reported by news media earlier this month.

"I was made aware of existence of this kind of document," Muilenburg told Cruz. "I counted on counsel to handle this appropriately."

"That is passive voice," Cruz shot back. "You're the CEO, the buck stops with you.

"How did your team not put it in front of you, run with their hair on fire and say 'We have a real problem here?' How did that not happen and what does that say about the culture at Boeing?"

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state where the 737 MAX is built, said the crisis showed that Boeing leadership was failing its employees.

"This isn't a question about line workers -- this is a question about the corporate view from Chicago, and whether there is enough attention to manufacturing and certification," Cantwell said. "You should take offense to the fact that people say, 'It's a great company that's not being run correctly.'"

Tuesday's hearing will be followed by a second session on Wednesday in the House Transportation Committee.

Boeing is still targeting regulatory approval for the MAX in 2019, a timeframe that many aviation experts still view as possible.

Senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate committee, told CNBC before the hearing that he intends to scrutinize Boeing's processes but said he did not see anything that would prevent the MAX from going back into service "fairly soon."

"I think this plane is eminently fixable," Wicker told CNBC. "I don't think it's a hopeless cause."

Grieving relatives tossed flowers into the sea where an Indonesia Lion Air jet crashed a year ago, killing 189 on board, after a final accident report pointed to plane design flaws as a key factor in the disaster https://t.co/vS5zwfwglo

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 29 oktober 2019

Southwest pilots sue Boeing over 737 MAX

Yahoo – AFP, October 8, 2019

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft parked on the tarmac after being
grounded (AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON)

Washington (AFP) - Pilots from Texas-based Southwest Airlines said Monday they had filed a lawsuit against Boeing, accusing it of "deliberately misleading" them over the 737 MAX, which has been grounded after two deadly crashes.

Nearly 350 people died in crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March this year.

"We have to be able to trust Boeing to truthfully disclose the information we need to safely operate our aircraft," captain Jonathan Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), said.

"In the case of the 737 MAX, that absolutely did not happen."

The grounding of the 737 MAX since March eliminated more than 30,000 scheduled Southwest flights and caused over $100 million in lost wages for pilots, SWAPA said.

Southwest is the largest operator of the 737 MAX, and the aircraft may not return to passenger service until 2020.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Dallas, Texas, said Boeing had falsely claimed the plane was airworthy.

In both crashes, pilots had difficulty controlling the plane once the MCAS anti-stall handling system was activated, according to preliminary investigations.

Volkswagen faces first mammoth diesel lawsuit on home turf

Yahoo – AFP, Yann SCHREIBER, September 30, 2019

Dieselgate is now 'part of the group's history' (AFP Photo/John MACDOUGALL)

Braunschweig (Germany) (AFP) - A case pitting hundreds of thousands of owners of manipulated diesel cars demanding compensation opened against German car behemoth Volkswagen Monday, four years after the country's largest post-war industrial scandal erupted.

Around 450,000 people have joined a first-of-its-kind grouped proceeding, introduced by lawmakers after the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal broke in 2015.

The first hearing in what is likely to be a grinding, years-long trial began at 10 am (0800 GMT) in Brunswick, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from VW headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg. The second is planned for November 18.

Consumer rights group VZBV, representing the plaintiffs, says the German carmaker deliberately harmed buyers by installing motor control software that allowed vehicles to pollute far more on the road than under lab conditions.

"I would like Volkswagen to reimburse the purchase price" said Andreas Sarcletti, a customer who had made the trip from nearby Hanover, "but I'm worried the trial is going to last a very long time."

Uwe Reinicke, who bought a manipulated vehicle in 2011, said "I don't think it's right, the way Volkswagen treated us."

VW fooled authorities about the real level of harmful emissions from 

its cars (AFP Photo/THOMAS KIENZLE)

"VW ought to finally, properly admit that they lied," he added.

The trial is Germany's largest so far in the tentacular diesel scandal, which last week saw VW chief executive Herbert Diess charged with market manipulation over his role.

50 questions for judges

"Several regional tribunals have already found against Volkswagen" and granted plaintiffs compensation, judge Michael Neef noted as the proceedings opened.

Alongside the grouped proceeding, 61,000 individual lawsuits have been filed in Germany, but Brunswick may not follow those earlier rulings.

Of the around 50 questions about the case judges must decide on, whether Volkswagen "caused harm" by acting "dishonestly" will be "one of the central, difficult questions," Neef added.

"We're confident of our chances, since Volkswagen committed fraud," VZBV lawyer Ralph Sauer told AFP ahead of the hearing.

VW lawyer Martine de Lind van Wijngaarden countered that there was "no harm and no basis to this claim" because "hundreds of thousands of cars are used" on the roads without problem.

A lot of files to get through (AFP Photo/Ronny Hartmann)

Judges said that even if they find there was harm, the amount diesel owners receive in compensation would be based on the present-day market value -- not the original purchase price.

Every owner registered in the trial will have to claim individually, even if the plaintiffs were to win the case.

VW thinks a final judgement could arrive in 2023 at the earliest, if the case is appealed all the way to the Federal Court of Justice.

Individual proceedings could then take at least another year -- in the court of first instance.

By then, the cars' market value will have further eroded, making a buyback cheaper for the firm.

Instead, the judges mentioned the possibility of a settlement, while allowing that such talks "would not be easy" given duplicates and foreign residents on the list of plaintiffs.

The VZBV says it is "open" to an out-of-court settlement but "in that case, VW would have to pay a significant sum after all," Mueller told AFP.

VW for its part finds a mass settlement "hard to imagine".

Most of VW's fines payments have gone to the US (AFP Photo/Geoff Robins)

30 billion euros

Since 2015, when Volkswagen admitted to manipulating 11 million vehicles worldwide to fool emissions tests, the scandal has cost the group over 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in fines, compensation and legal costs.

Most of that sum -- $22 billion -- has gone to the US, while in Germany VW has so far paid just 2.3 billion euros spread across three fines.

Alongside car owners, investors are claiming damages for losses they suffered when the group's share price plummeted after it came clean.

And earlier this week, chief executive Herbert Diess and supervisory board chief Hans Dieter Poetsch were charged with market manipulation.

Former chief executive Martin Winterkorn, who stepped down over the scandal, has been also charged with fraud.

The clouds of scandal still haven't blown away (AFP Photo/Julian Stratenschulte)

Away from the legal battlegrounds, "dieselgate" has sped up the fuel's decline from its status as lower-carbon alternative to petrol, favoured with government subsidies.

In Germany, its market share among new registrations has fallen from 46 to 33 percent. Car bans are also looming in some city centres because of the level of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

The diesel scandal is "part of the group's history" just like the famous Beetle and Golf models, says VW brand chief Ralf Brandstaetter.

"The diesel crisis was a catalyst for our transformation," Brandstaetter told AFP in a recent interview, pointing to VW's 30 billion euro investment in a new electric range to "regain society's respect".

Crisis-hit Nissan CEO resigns amid pay probe

Yahoo – AFP, Etienne BALMER, 9 September 2019

Reports in Japan say Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa will step down over
issues with his pay

Nissan's CEO said Monday he will step down next week, deepening the crisis at the Japanese car giant still reeling from the arrest and ouster of former chief Carlos Ghosn's over alleged financial misconduct.

It is yet another blow for the firm that has seen sales plunge and been forced to slash jobs since Ghosn's stunning arrest for allegedly hiding part of his salary from official documents to shareholders.

Hiroto Saikawa said he would leave the company on September 16, following the results of an investigation into excess pay he received after altering the terms of a bonus.

Saikawa is suspected of improperly adding 47 million yen ($440,000) to his compensation under a scheme in which directors can earn a bonus if their company's share price rises above a certain level in a set period.

Nissan officials were keen to stress that there was no illegality but that he should not have delegated the task to a junior executive.

"At the end of the day, the operation which should have been carried out by the president himself was... delegated to others, which is a violation of the rules," said Motoo Nagai, a board member.

Saikawa admitted handing the task to a company secretariat and said he was "not proud" of this but insisted it was not the same as the misconduct of which Ghosn is accused.

He was it was "totally different from the intentional wrongdoing that was uncovered" during the internal Nissan probe into Ghosn and his right-hand man, US executive Greg Kelly.

The controversial "share appreciation" scheme has now been scrapped, the Nissan board announced.

Current chief operating officer, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, will take over as acting CEO on September 16, when Saikawa officially leaves, and Nissan hopes to find a permanent replacement by the end of October.

Alleged overpayments

The carmaker is currently undergoing an overhaul intended to strengthen governance after the Ghosn scandal.

In June, Nissan shareholders voted in favour of various measures including the establishment of three new oversight committees responsible for the appointment of senior officials, pay issues and auditing.

They also approved the election of 11 directors as the firm restructures, among them two Renault executives as well as Saikawa.

The reforms were designed to put Nissan on a more stable footing after the arrest of Ghosn, who has been sacked from his leadership roles at the Japanese firm and others.

He is awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting millions of dollars in salary and of using company funds for personal expenses.

Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing and accuses Nissan executives opposed to his plans to further integrate the firm with France's Renault of plotting against him.

'Dark side'

Saikawa, a one-time Ghosn protege, turned sharply against his former mentor after his arrest, referring to the "dark side" of the tycoon's tenure and accusing him of accruing unchecked power that allowed his alleged wrongdoing to go undetected.

But the CEO himself came under pressure in the scandal's wake, facing calls to resign from shareholders who view him as too heavily associated with the Ghosn era.

And while he resisted calls to step down immediately, he has always said he planned to hand over the reins after Nissan is back on track.

The Ghosn scandal has proved disastrous for Nissan, which in July announced that net profit plunged nearly 95 percent in the April-June quarter, and confirmed it would cut 12,500 jobs worldwide.

The Japanese firm has also struggled to steady its relationship with Renault as part of a tripartite alliance with Mitsubishi Motors that Ghosn founded and once led.

Asked how he felt towards his once-mentor Ghosn and Kelly, Saikawa said he believed their actions had put the company in the difficult position in which it now finds itself -- with hardship for customers, staff and dealers.

"This is the biggest responsibility... and I think they should think about this, they should feel bad about this. But they haven't expressed any apology for creating this situation," said Saikawa.

"I want Mr Kelly and Mr Ghosn to feel bad about the situation they have created."

Boeing apologises for 737 MAX crashes as Paris Air Show opens

Yahoo – AFP, Joseph Schmid, June 17, 2019

If the aviation market continues to soften, Airbus and Boeing could face a
disappointing year (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT)

Le Bourget (France) (AFP) - A top Boeing executive apologised Monday for two crashes of 737 MAX jets that together killed 346 people, disasters which have pushed safety to the top of the agenda as aerospace firms gathered for the opening of the Paris Air Show.

The US aerospace giant is battling to regain the trust of passengers, pilots and regulators after a 737 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air flight crashed last October, followed by an Ethiopian Airlines jet in March.

"We are very sorry for the loss of lives as a result of the tragic accidents... our thoughts and our prayers are with their families," Boeing's head of commercial aircraft Kevin McAllister told journalists at the air show.

"Our priority is doing everything to get this plane safely returned to service. It is a pivotal moment for all of us," he said.

But McAllister and other executives faced a barrage of questions over Boeing's handling of the 737 MAX disasters, thought to be caused by a faulty MCAS anti-stall system.

Boeing's Kevin McAllister apologised for the 737 MAX crashes, but questions
remain (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT)

Critics accuse Boeing of failing to sufficiently test a system that used just one sensor to determine if the 737 was at risk of stalling, and of failing to adequately inform and train pilots.

Reports also suggest that US safety regulators allowed Boeing engineers to self-certify the system, prompting worries of insufficient oversight at the planemaker.

McAllister said a planned fix for the anti-stall software would use two sensors, but it has yet to submit its proposal to regulators, who have grounded the plane indefinitely.

"We are very confident that the three layers of protection we are planning with the software update will prevent anything like this happening again," he said.

Europe's new fighter jet

Several executives at the Paris Air Show vowed to improve transparency over plane safety in the wake of the 737 MAX crashes, while also pledging to reduce emissions for an industry increasingly in the public spotlight.

The Paris Air Show kicked off with a markedly less self-congratulatory
mood (AFP Photo/BENOIT TESSIER)

Few blockbuster products or orders are expected at the world's biggest aerospace show, which brings together nearly 2,500 firms from 49 countries, and 290 official delegations, including government leaders and military chiefs.

But with passenger traffic slowing this year, the atmosphere at the fair, where arch-rivals Boeing and Airbus usually vie for aircraft orders, was markedly less self-congratulatory than in recent years.

President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the event at Le Bourget airport after flying in on a hulking grey Airbus A330 refuelling tanker operated by the French Air Force.

He then attended the unveiling of a full-size model of the new fighter jet that France and Germany are promoting as a symbol of their efforts to bolster European defence autonomy at a time of fraying ties with the United States.

The stealth plane is part of the ambitious Future Combat Air System (FCAS) that includes next-generation drones and missiles, which would help reduce the EU's long reliance on US planes and equipment.

At an airbase near you in about 20 years: The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) 

jet (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT)

The cooperation framework was later signed by the defence ministers of France, Germany and Spain, so far the only other EU nation to join the project, which aims to have its new plane in operation by 2040.

Macron then toured the vast exhibition halls at Le Bourget, where dozens of companies are touting their efforts to make flying cleaner amid criticism of airlines' carbon emissions.

Airbus officially unveiled its A321 XLR jet, the latest iteration of its hugely popular single-aisle A320, which can now cross the Atlantic thanks to increased fuel efficiency.

That makes it an option for airlines which currently have to use bigger, fuel-hungry twin-aisle planes on longer routes.

The US-based Air Lease Corporation has signed a letter of intent to buy 27 of the planes, with deliveries to start in 2023.

France and Germany hope to reduce their reliance on US equipment (AFP Photo/

BENOIT TESSIER)

Clouds on horizon

Both Airbus and Boeing have suffered a wave of order cancellations as airlines grapple with slowing passenger traffic growth since the start of this year.

And air cargo shipments, often an indicator of passenger traffic trends, have been slumping so far in 2019, reflecting the trade tensions prompted by US President Donald Trump's move to impose tariffs on several European and Chinese imports.

If the aviation market continues to soften, Airbus and Boeing could suffer their first disappointing year after more than a decade of solid growth driven in particular by the soaring numbers of people flying in Asia.

The two industry leaders can take comfort from jam-packed order books after hefty revenue growth last year, when their combined deliveries exceeded 1,600 planes.

Analysts say nearly 40,000 planes will be in service by 2038, double the industry's current fleet.