Why Adidas cuts 500 jobs, despite strong results

Adidas published better-than-expected results on Wednesday, but only a day later it announced cutting 500 jobs at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach. What is going on?

“Reducing complexity”

Earlier this weak, Adidas proudly announced it beat analysts’ expectations hands-down with a 12 % increase in turnover and a net profit of 764 million euros. A year earlier, the company had to admit a loss of 75 million euros. However, CEO Bjørn Gulden announced a deeply controversial measure at virtually the same time, cutting 500 jobs at the sportswear giant’s headquarters in Bavaria as a result of a reorganisation.