Nike cuts 1 % of its staff (but not in Europe)

Nike has announced another job-cutting round, laying off nearly 1 % of its staff in a bid to refocus on core sports. The EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) will remain unaffected.

(Another) reorganisation

Since appointing Elliott Hill as CEO, Nike has been heavily investing again in running shoes and sneakers – segments where it had lost market share. At the same time, the brand is restoring ties with retail partners and expanding its physical store footprint to face the competition.

The measure follows Hill’s decision to reorganise his workforce by sport. Former CEO John Donahoe had limited the segmentation into men, women, and children only, but Hill thinks that decision stifled innovation. “This new formation is built to put sport and sport culture back at the center, to connect more deeply with the athlete and the consumer”, the company told CNBC. The company has approximately 77,800 employees worldwide, but the layoffs will not affect stores, EMEA operations and the Converse brand.

Earlier, in February of last year, Nike already reduced its workforce by 2 %, amounting to more than 1,600 positions. In June, the group also announced it planned to become less dependent on production in China for the American market, to limit the impact of import tariffs. At the same time, Nike predicted a less severe decline in revenue for the first quarter than feared.