Nissan said it would cut 20,000 jobs - 8.5% of its global workforce - over the next year after sinking into a net loss for the fiscal third quarter.
Battered by the slump in the worldwide car market, Nissan, Japan's third biggest car maker, also lowered its forecast for the financial year through March, saying it now expected a net loss.
For the October-December quarter, Nissan reported a net loss of 83.2 billion yen (£622 million). The same quarter a year earlier, Nissan had a 132.2 billion yen profit.
Nissan now expects a £2 billion net loss for the fiscal year through March - the first time in nine years it has tumbled into an annual loss.
"The global auto industry is in turmoil and Nissan is no exception," chief executive Carlos Ghosn said in Tokyo.
Like other Japanese car makers, Nissan has been battered by the global slump and the US credit crunch, which has undermined sales in its vital North American market.
A strong yen also ate into profits by eroding overseas earnings when converted back to yen.
As one key step in response to the dismal results, Mr Ghosn said Nissan's global workforce would be reduced by 20,000 through March 2010 to 215,000 from 235,000.
Directors on the board will forego bonuses for the year ending March. Their salaries, as well as the salaries of corporate officers, will be reduced by 10%, while managers' salaries will be reduced by 5%, the company said.
Nissan sold 731,000 vehicles worldwide in the quarter ending December 31, down 18.6% from the same period a year earlier.
