TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it has appointed the head of its North American operations as its new chief financial officer, aiming to bolster restructuring efforts to turn around faltering earnings.

Jeremie Papin will become CFO as of Jan. 1, replacing Stephen Ma, who will head the automaker's operations in China, a key market contributing to its current doldrums alongside the U.S. market.

Christian Meunier, a former Jeep CEO and Stellantis N.V. executive, will return to Nissan and lead its North American operations, the Japanese company said.

Nissan is undergoing a major overhaul after reporting a 93.5 percent plunge in net profit in the first half ended September. It is reeling from slumping sales and profitability in the United States and China, the world's two biggest auto markets.

The company will cut 9,000 jobs and reduce worldwide output capacity by 20 percent.

Several hundred employees in its U.S. operations are already scheduled to retire by the end of the year, while around 1,000 workers in Thailand are expected to be let go or transferred to other jobs by fall 2025, according to an industry source.

Nissan's dismal earnings were due to increased incentives it had to pay for its dealerships in the United States to survive severe competition there.

The maker of the Leaf electric car, which does not have hybrid models for sale in the United States, has been struggling there amid the hybrid genre's rising popularity following slowing sales of EVs, which are more expensive.

It is also facing stiff price competition in China, where local brands with more affordable EVs are grabbing market share from Japanese automakers.