Almost half a century after founding his pioneering motor-maker on the family farm, Japanese billionaire Shigenobu Nagamori is handing over leadership of Nidec Corp. to a former Nissan Motor Co. executive to lead an ambitious pivot into the electric-vehicle space. Jun Seki will take over from Nagamori as chief executive officer, the Kyoto-based company said last week as it announced better-than-projected annual results. The leadership change, which comes a little over a year after Seki's move from Nissan, will be finalized when Nidec's board meets June 22. Nagamori, who founded Nidec in a shack in 1973, will remain chairman. Seki, 59, was appointed president of Nidec after leaving Nissan, where he was vice chief operating officer and an unsuccessful contender for CEO after Hiroto Saikawa resigned amid a compensation scandal, following the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Almost half a century after founding his pioneering motor maker on the family farm, Japanese billionaire Shigenobu Nagamori is handing over leadership of Nidec Corp. to a former Nissan Motor Co. executive to lead an ambitious pivot into the electric-vehicle space. Jun Seki will take over from Nagamori as chief executive officer, the Kyoto-based company said last week as it announced better-than-projected annual results. The leadership change, which comes a little over a year after Seki's move from Nissan, will be finalized when Nidec's board meets June 22. Nagamori, who founded Nidec in a shack in 1973, will remain chairman. Seki, 59, was appointed president of Nidec after leaving Nissan, where he was vice chief operating officer and an unsuccessful contender for CEO after Hiroto Saikawa resigned amid a compensation scandal, following the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

OSAKA – Japanese motor maker Nidec Corp. said Thursday it plans to invest ¥100 billion ($878 million) on robots and supercomputers to eliminate overtime work for its 10,000 group employees in Japan by 2020. The company, which commands a high global market share for small precision motors, is known for its culture of hard work, with founder and Chairman Shigenobu Nagamori setting an example by working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. But with its workforce diversifying through aggressive midcareer recruitment and acquisitions of overseas companies, Kyoto-based Nidec is taking steps to enhance the work-life balance of its employees. To implement the change, Nidec plans to allocate about ¥50 billion each for its manufacturing division and its noncore division, including development and personnel units. At its factories, the company plans to introduce cutting-edge facilities using robots to reduce operational hours.