(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co.’s struggles to cope with tougher car industry conditions and address internal weaknesses have spiraled, leaving the automaker no choice but to slash payroll, production and its forecasts for this fiscal year.

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Shares in the Japanese manufacturer fell the most since August on an intraday basis after saying it will dismiss 9,000 workers and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity after net income plummeted 94% in the first half. Nissan also will sell off some of its stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. after burning through ¥448.3 billion ($2.9 billion) in cash the last six months.

Nissan’s shares fell as much as 10% in early morning trading in Tokyo on Friday, to their lowest since October 2020.

The calamitous results will prove costly for Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida, who’s forfeiting half his compensation starting this month. The CEO told investors Nissan has been affected “not only by external challenges, but also by our specific issues,” alluding both to the breakneck rise of Chinese automakers and Nissan setting overly ambitious sales targets.

“Meeting our sales goals will be a challenge,” Uchida said. “We need to rebuild our strength so that we can pivot toward a more positive direction.”

Nissan now sees its operating income plunging to just ¥150 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, down 70% from its previous forecast. Management also lowered their revenue outlook by more than 9%, meaning they now expect virtually no growth for the year.

Uchida has been at the helm since 2019, when Nissan was facing an existential crisis in the wake of former chairman Carlos Ghosn’s departure. He’s had trouble righting the ship while facing stiff competition from the likes of Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Co., rendering the company a laggard among major Japanese automakers.

“Nissan is the weakest one,” said James Hong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities Korea. “The only way for the company to improve sales is through price cuts.”

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Nissan (Baa3/BB+/BBB-) ratings appear to be on very thin ice following bleak fiscal 2Q25 performance and self-assessment of its extremely tough situation.

— Joel Levington, BI director of credit research

Click here to read the report.

Nissan will sell almost a third of its shareholding in partner Mitsubishi Motors, paring its current stake of just over 34%. The roughly 10% holding that Nissan will offer up through the Tokyo Stock Exchange was worth about ¥68.6 billion at the close of trading Thursday.