Nike continues layoffs, cuts 490 more jobs this month

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Sep 7, 2017

Nike is in the process of completing another round of layoffs. The company is working towards cutting a total of 1,400 employees.

Nike publicly announced the layoffs in June at the start of the company's new fiscal year. On Wednesday the company notified the State of Oregon that it will layoff 490 non-union employees by September 30th. This round of layoffs is, according to Nike, another part of a "mass layoff that began with the separation of approximately 255 workers in July."

This is the first mass reorganization since 2009 when Nike cut 1,750 jobs globally. Nike currently has over 70,000 employees but is in the process of cutting 2% of that workforce. The company brought in $32.4 billion in annual sales last year.

Nike is restructuring to reportedly increase efficiency and automation in a changing retail landscape. It ultimately wants to speed up delivery of its product to consumers. The first round of layoffs targeted many employees working in product development and tech. This next round targets employees working in operations, sales and customer service.

The layoffs are not performance based. They are financially driven which means that many mid and senior level employees who have been with the company for years have been given notice that they will lose their jobs.

Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that the layoffs are continuing to wreak havoc on the business. While employees are being given severance packages, the uncertainty of not knowing which departments and functions will be cut next is contributing to heightened anxiety for all.

As Nike wades through additional rounds of layoffs, work continues on the company's $1B campus expansion project which was started before layoffs were announced.