A major shoe brand has decided to lay off over 1,000 employees in the midst of a years-long sales slowdown. As reported by the New York Post, Nike has decided to take their slogan to a new level, and "just do" a pretty good structural shakeup.
Chief Operating Officer for Nike, Venkatesh Alagirisamy, sent out a memo to employees on Thursday, April 23. It explained that Nike would axe employees mainly in North America and Europe, more specifically on its technology teams. In terms of pure numbers, this is quite a small layoff in the grand scheme of things. It only accounts for 2% of Nike's global employee base.
But, this is still pretty significant - no one would have been fired if their sales numbers were good. And things are looking bad. Nike's shares are down over half of their value over the past three years. Their competitors are winning more shelf space, as Nike lose their previously ironclad grip on the shoe market.
Even as the new CEO aimed for the stars when he took over in 2024, vowing to push to reinstate the core of Nike - sports and running apparel - sales are still slumped. Things are looking especially bad in China. They're forecasted to lose 20% of sales this quarter.
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Nike Has Been Axing Employees A Lot Recently
And this isn't even Nike's first layoff this year. That's not an entirely unexpected thing, given their slump in sales. But, still, it must be a kick in the teeth for any remaining employees. After all, what if they're next?
Nike axed almost 1,000 employees in their automation department back in February. According to Bloomberg, the layoff mostly affected distribution center employees in Tennessee and Mississippi.
In a statement, they explained that they were "accelerating the use of advanced technology and automation, and investing in the skills our teams need for the future." Of course, they also cited their wants to return to "long-term, profitable growth."
We hope that this is the end of Nike's layoffs. It's always sad when people have to lose their jobs.
