Nissan shuffles brass after weak earnings, big …

Nissan Motor said in Japan today that its net income for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 was up just 2%, to the equivalent of $1.1. billion on revenue of $25.4 billion.

Profits nearly doubled in Japan, but North American results were weak and European losses grew. Emerging markets under-performed expectations.

The company, Japan's second-largest automaker and No. 6 in sales in the U.S., cut its full-year earnings forecast 15.5%, to $3.6 billion, and announced a management shuffle to revive the company.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said at company headquarters in Yokohama that "our slow performance required immediate action to be taken."

Jose Munoz was named the new head of North American operations, replacing Colin Dodge. Munoz has been senior vice president of sales and marketing of Nissan and Infiniti in North and South America. He was in that job only since April 1, appointed to the post after running Mexico operations and boosting Nissan's share there to 25%.

Ghosn had said when he announced Munoz' appointment to the North and South America job that he "is the future of Nissan" in North America.

In an interview at the Detroit auto show in January, Munoz told USA TODAY that he believed he did well in Mexico by ramping up the automaker's communication and involvement with dealers, and he hoped to do that in the U.S. He acknowledged that it would a big challenge because the U.S. is so much larger.

In Japan, the new COO becomes Toshiyuki Shiga, a vice chairman.

Ghosn took pains to say he would not be leaving.