Japanese automaker Nissan reported a loss on Thursday for the fiscal quarter, leading the company to announce it is cutting 9,000 people, around 6% of its workforce. Nissan models did not sell well in the U.S. last quarter.
Makoto Uchida, Nissan’s CEO, told reporters that he is taking the situation “very seriously,” according to the AP—and cutting his salary in half.
Related: Should CEOs Take a Pay Cut to Avoid Layoffs and Cutting Jobs? It’s Complicated, Experts Say
Uchida said he was taking a 50% pay cut and the company is cutting its production capacity globally by 20%.
In 2022, Uchida made ¥673m (around $4.5 million), per the BBC.
“Nissan will restructure its business to become leaner and more resilient,” he added.
Uchida isn’t the first CEO to reduce their pay when business is down.
In 2023, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan cut his salary by 98% amid a layoff announcement. Later that year, Container Store CEO Satish Malhotra took a voluntary 10% pay cut so that staffers could receive merit bonuses.
In 2013, Nintendo’s CEO famously cut his salary in half to avoid layoffs.
Related: CEO of Tesla Rival Drops Salary to $1 to Cover Bankruptcy Costs
