Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer, has said it plans to cut 20,000 jobs after suffering its first annual loss in nine years.
Nissan said the move was a result of its sales falling in North America amid the global downturn.
"The global auto industry is in turmoil, and Nissan is no exception," Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief executive, told reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
Similar to many Asian economies, Japan is heavily dependent on its exports and Nissan's expected losses reflect a growing list of companies in the country affected by the financial crisis.
Nissan said it planned to shed 8.5 per cent of its workforce after reporting an expected net loss of 265 billion yen ($2.9bn) in the financial year to March, a reversal from the previous year's profit of 482 billion yen.
Record loss
Nissan said the reduction was its first net loss since it began reporting quarterly earnings in 2003.
Ghosn said Nissan's global workforce will be reduced by 20,000 by March 2010, from 235,000 to 215,000.
The company reported it sold 731,000 vehicles worldwide in the quarter ending December 31, down 18.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
The company's shares are the worst performers in the country's car-manufacturing sector in the year to date.