Nissan CEO Who Cut His Monthly Pay in Half to Address 'Severe Situation' Will Still Make Millions This Year

Makoto Uchida, the CEO of Nissan, offered to take a 50 percent pay cut for himself, as his company's shares continued to plummet.

The pay cut isn't quite a feat since it will still translate to Uchida making millions from his role.

The Nissan CEO's total compensation package is $4.28 million, which translates into 657 million Japanese yen, annually, according to Fox Business.

26 percent of the compensation package is his salary, meaning if he gave up half of that, it's 13 percent, reported IBTimes. On paper he is still making 87 percent of his initial package which translates to a total of $4.28 million for this year.

When it's all said and done, the CEO is leaving nearly $45,000 on the table monthly while his company tanks.

Uchida's self-appointed pay cut is part of efforts to address the company's severe financial challenges, including plunging shares after Nissan sent a profit warning, citing 'intense sales competition.'

The company said Thursday morning that it is "facing a severe situation" and created a plan to achieve "healthy growth."

"The company is implementing various measures to lower selling, general, and administrative expenses, decrease the cost of goods sold, rationalize its asset portfolio, and prioritize capital expenditures and investments in research and development," Nissan's statement read.

Nissan has been facing declining sales, a reduced profit margin for operations, and sinking global revenue, which prompted a restructuring plan, reported Fox Business.

In response to Uchida's pay cut, Nissan will cut 9,000 jobs globally; reduce production capacity by 20 percent, and focus on cost-cutting measures totaling over $2.5 billion.
These actions are part of a broad strategy to streamline operations, enhance product competitiveness, and debut more energy-efficient vehicles in key markets such as the U.S. and China, reported Fox Business. The streamlining efforts include reducing vehicle development times to 30 months.

Nissan's other goal is to create deeper partnerships with Renault, Mitsubishi, and Honda involving software and technology.

Despite the downsizing, Uchida emphasized that the company is not shrinking but restructuring for agility and resilience.

Nissan's ultimate goal is to "create a leaner, more resilient business" that can adapt to market changes.