People walk past a Nike store in New York City on April 2, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | reuters
Nike announced a new round of layoffs on Thursday, affecting about 1,400 employees across the organization, most of whom are concentrated in its technology department.
In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the company said the layoffs were part of Nike’s broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy, aimed at reshaping its technology team, modernizing its Air manufacturing, relocating some of its Converse footwear operations and integrating its material supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply chain teams.
“Collectively, these changes will result in the reduction of approximately 1,400 roles across global operations, the majority of which are in technology,” Alagirisamy wrote. “These cuts are extremely difficult for the teammates directly affected and also for the teams around them.”
A Nike spokesperson said the layoffs are about better positioning the organization for the current pace of the sport and accelerating its growth. The layoffs affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company’s total global head count.
“This is not a new direction,” Alagirisamy wrote. “This is the next phase of work already underway.”
Nike said affected employees would be notified starting Thursday.
CEO Elliot Hill is working to turn Nike around after years of falling sales. While Hill has made some initial progress, it has come with some bumps in the road.
Nike announced cuts of 775 jobs in January, primarily in its US-based distribution centers, as the company works to accelerate its use of automation. At the time, the company said the cuts were part of Nike’s goal of returning to “long-term, profitable growth.”
These layoffs follow a round of cuts last summer that affected less than 1% of Nike’s corporate workforce as part of the company’s efforts to restructure the business.
In its third fiscal quarter earnings report last month, the retailer warned that sales would continue to decline for the rest of the year, largely due to an estimated 20% decline in China during the current quarter.
– CNBC jessica golden Contributed to this report.
