Nike, the sportswear firm, is planning to reduce its staff at its Oregon headquarters by 740 employees. The company has decided to cut costs as it expects its revenue to decrease in the first half of the financial year 2024-25 due to weak sales caused by people cutting down on spending.
In December 2023, Nike announced its plan to launch a cost-saving initiative aimed at reducing expenditure by $2 billion over the next three years. The company also disclosed that it would be spending approximately $400 million in severance pay for the impacted employees.
In February 2024, Nike revealed its plans to eliminate two percent of its global workforce, which would result in at least 1,600 job losses. However, employees working at Nike stores and distribution centers, as well as members of the innovation team, are expected to be spared.
The next phase of trimming is scheduled to take place at the end of June. As of May 31, 2023, Nike’s workforce strength was about 83,700. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Nike has cut jobs. In 2020, the company let go of 700 employees due to the pandemic.
In other news, Nike has found itself in the middle of a controversy over the US track and field team’s Olympic uniform for the 2024 games. The uniform was criticized for being too skimpy.
