YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan on Thursday said it had begun cutting more than 12,500 jobs around the world after its profitability essentially evaporated in its most recent quarter.

The surprisingly glum news from the scandal-plagued Japanese company suggests its problems could be even more serious than it has previously acknowledged. That uncertainty extends all the way to the top, as its chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, hinted that he could step down within the year, saying Nissan is considering changes to its senior leadership.

The results will put more pressure on Nissan to overhaul its operations and fix its fractured partnership with the French automaker Renault. The alliance, which includes Mitsubishi, is the industry’s largest, selling more than 10.7 million cars in 2018. But it was shaken by the arrest late last year of Carlos Ghosn, then Nissan’s chairman and leader of the alliance, which exposed deep operational problems and fissures within the group.

The linkup is more important than ever as the companies face industrywide challenges. Car sales are slowing across the globe, and automakers are facing increased development costs as new technology threatens the dominance of traditional auto companies that face growing threats from newcomers like Google and Uber, which are pursuing a vision of cars that are autonomous, connected and electric.