Nike Announces Plans to Cut 1,400 Jobs

Nike has announced that it will be cutting “approximately” 1,400 jobs globally as it looks to simplify operations. 

Most of these layoffs will come from the company’s technology department, and follow a 10% decline in revenue from its 2024 fiscal year. 

This is the second round of layoffs for the company this year, with plans to lay off 800 employees announced in January.

“We have been taking deliberate steps to strengthen our foundation, sharpen how we compete and build a model designed to deliver long-term profitable growth,” said Venkatesh Alagirisamy, Chief Operating Officer in a company memo.

He continued: “At its core, these shifts are about building a Global Operations organisation that is more focused, more integrated with the business and better built for the pace of sport.”

Reshaping teams

According to Nike, the majority of the cuts will be felt in the technology department, as part of its “technology modernisation” approach. 

The company says it is reshaping its technology to “sharpen alignment with the business, build leaner teams and accelerate what matters most.”

This, Nike says, involves streamlining its structure and focusing on its core hubs – the Phillip H. Knight Campus in Oregon and the Nike India Technology Center.  

Outside of technology department reductions, the company is also looking to “adjust” its staff numbers in its manufacturing facilities. 

According to Nike, the company is “modernising” how work gets done across its Air Manufacturing Innovation facilities – where it engineers and produces pressurised air units for shoe cushioning – across Beaverton, St Louis and Vietnam. By streamlining operations, the company says it will be able to reduce employees to better manage its business needs and stay agile. 

Nike is also moving some of its Converse manufacturing and engineering resources closer to its factory partners and positioning materials work closer to its footwear and apparel supply chain teams. This, it says, will help enable “stronger real-time collaboration,” and strengthen the process of production from raw materials to the finished product.

“These changes are meant to make the company less complex and more responsive,” says Venkatesh. “As we look ahead, that means simplifying parts of how we operate, using more advanced automation where it helps us work better and building an even stronger end-to-end foundation for future growth.”

Nike’s plan to ‘Win Now’

Earlier this year, Nike announced it planned to cut around 800 jobs – mainly focused in its distribution centres across Tennessee and Mississippi. The cuts were reportedly made as part of efforts to increase automation across the company’s supply chain network.

“To power our Win Now actions, we're taking steps to strengthen and streamline our operations so we can move faster, operate with greater discipline and better serve athletes and consumers,” a Nike spokesperson told FOX Business.

‘Win Now’ refers to the company’s turnaround effort to reverse declining sales by accelerating innovation in core sports, rebalancing its direct-to-consumer sales and reorganising its teams. 

These efforts include the appointment of Venkatesh as the company’s first Chief Operating Officer – a role created to “better connect our operations to integrate technology more seamlessly into our sport offence,” according to CEO Elliott Hill.

Elliott said: “He and his team will now be able to look end to end to ensure that technology is fully integrated across the company and into how we create, plan, make, deliver and sell our world-class innovations across our three iconic brands. 

“His experience, innovative mindset and team-first leadership style will be key as we continue to evolve into a more agile, tech-enabled Nike.”