MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ, famed for its Lada cars, is to replace Swedish chief executive Bo Andersson following heavy losses.
Andersson was brought in to modernize AvtoVAZ in 2013. Under his watch, the company updated its product range, but staff reductions and pay cuts alienated some workers.
AvtoVAZ struggled when the Russian car market slumped last year. Lada sales in Russia in 2015 were down 31 percent and the company reported a loss of over $1 billion, prompting auditors Ernst & Young to warn it needed a bailout.
A board meeting March 15 will choose a successor to "lead the turnaround into its next phase of operations," according to a statement from the French-Japanese Renault-Nissan alliance, the majority owner of the holding company that controls AvtoVAZ.