Layoffs at the Big Swoosh: Nike slashes 2 percent of global workforce; 1600 jobs

American athletic footwear and apparel corporation Nike has slashed its total workforce by two percent or more than 1,600 jobs. Due to weaker profits this year, the sports giant has initiated cost cutting measures like layoffs.

Since consumers have cut back on non-essential spending, Nike’s competitors, Adidas, Puma and JD Sports, too have highlighted weaker earnings.

In December 2023, Nike presented a $ 2 billion savings plan for the next three years. This included tightening the supply of some products, improving supply chain, reducing the layers of management and increasing automation use.

In the third quarter, Nike had announced that it would incur about $400 million to $450 million in employee severance costs. According to a company filing, as per March 31, 2023, Nike had 83,700 employees.

However, the layoffs would not impact employees in stores or distribution centres or those in its innovation team.

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