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'Nike Says Layoffs Will Impact 740 At Oregon Headquarters' - Oregon Live

Benzinga ·  Apr 19 14:47

Nike on Friday said in a notice to government officials that it expects to part with 740 Oregon workers, all at its Washington County headquarters.

The filing came as the second wave of a mass layoff started.

The first wave of the layoff took place in February, shortly after Nike CEO John Donahoe told employees the company would part with 2% of its workforce, but he did not provide information about the number of Oregon jobs that would be impacted.

On Friday, Nike filed that information with the state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission, as required when mass layoffs occur.

Nike employs 83,700, according to its last annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including 11,400 at its 400-acre headquarters campus near Beaverton.

In an email to employees on Friday, the company's senior leadership team, including Donahoe, said the latest round of layoffs started Friday and will be complete by the end of next week.

The company has asked employees to work from home next week.

"We know these moments are hard, which includes having to make difficult decisions and saying goodbye to friends and teammates," the leadership team wrote in the email. "We remain committed to ensuring every person impacted is treated respectfully and with great care."

The ongoing layoffs do not impact workers in Nike's stores, distribution centers, or U.S. manufacturing facilities that make Air insoles.

In 2020, the company laid off 700 workers in Oregon as part of a restructuring designed to make the company more nimble. In 2017, Nike eliminated 745 jobs here.

In December, Nike signaled a significant layoff was coming when it told stock analysts that it expected to incur as much as $450 million in restructuring charges in the quarter that ended Feb. 29, mostly from severance costs. At the time, Nike also said it wanted to cut $2 billion in costs over the next three years.

While Nike remains the dominant sportswear brand, it's been in a sales slump and losing market share to smaller, nimbler rivals, such as Hoka and On. Nike only expects sales to increase around 1% in the fiscal year that ends May 31.

It expects sales to decline in the six-month period that beings June 1, before accelerating as a number of new products come to market as part of what the company calls an "innovation super cycle."

The company's also spoken about plans to "reignite" sales in growing parts of the company, including products for women, the Jordan brand and running gear.

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