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TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor's 7201.T board has decided to reassign Chief Financial Officer Stephen Ma to head its China business, the Nikkei newspaper reported, a high-profile shake-up for the crisis-hit Japanese automaker as it cuts thousands of jobs.

The replacement of Ma, who will be succeeded by Nissan Americas Chairperson Jeremie Papin according to Nikkei, is another blow to President-CEO Makoto Uchida as he faces mounting pressure to rebuild Nissan after sales slumps in its key China and U.S. markets.

Nissan said last month its half-year net earnings were down more than 90% from the same period last year and cut its annual operating profit forecast by about 70%.

Uchida also announced a plan to axe 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity to reduce costs by $2.6 billion in the current financial year ending in March.

Ma briefed analysts and investors about the execution of the restructuring plan at a closed-door meeting last month, Reuters previously reported.

Ma will be reassigned to head Nissan's China business, and Uchida will remain president despite opposition from some directors as part of a reshuffle of some executive committee members next month, the Nikkei reported late on Tuesday.

A separate report by the Yomiuri newspaper said an announcement was expected on Wednesday.

A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment.

The management reshuffle is the latest example of leadership turmoil at Nissan, which has never fully recovered from the 2018 arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and the unwinding of a partnership with French automaker Renault RENA.PA.

In 2019, CEO Hiroto Saikawa stepped down after admitting he received excess pay. Chief Operations Officer Ashwani Gupta left last year, and Nissan later investigated claims that Uchida put Gupta under surveillance.

54-year-old Ma joined Nissan's U.S. unit in 1996 and has held financial roles in the group and its Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng 0489.HK. He became Nissan's finance chief in December 2019, weeks after Uchida took over as CEO.

Bloomberg News reported last month that Ma was expected to step down.

The next Nissan finance chief will face the tough task of carrying out the recovery plan to restore financial stability. Credit rating agencies Moody's and Fitch revised Nissan's credit outlook to "negative" last month, citing deteriorating free cash flows.

Activist investors Effissimo Capital Management and Oasis Management have quietly built up stakes in Nissan. Both are known for pushing for capital allocation and governance reforms at Japanese companies.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Jamie Freed)

((Mariko.Katsumura@thomsonreuters.com;))