Nike is cutting approximately 775 jobs as it aims to consolidate its U.S. distribution center operations across facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi.
In a statement sent to FN on Monday, a Nike representative said the move is part of the company’s “Win Now” strategy, which was laid out on the company’s third quarter earnings call in March.
“To power our Win Now actions, we’re taking steps to strengthen and streamline our operations so we can move faster, operate with greater discipline, and better serve athletes and consumers,” the statement said. “We are sharpening our supply chain footprint, accelerating the use of advanced technology and automation, and investing in the skills our teams need for the future.”
The representative added that these actions to consolidate the company’s operations footprint are “designed to reduce complexity, improve flexibility, and build a more responsive, resilient, responsible, and efficient operation” and to support Nike’s “path back to long-term, profitable growth, including contributing to improved EBIT margins over time.”
The news comes after Nike disclosed a new round of layoffs in August, this time impacting its corporate team. Nike told Footwear News that 1 percent of its corporate employees will be let go. An email from the company’s leadership team informed employees of the realignment.
Two additional rounds of layoffs last May and June focused on Nike’s technology division, with some of that work being shifted to third-party vendors. In spring 2024, Nike laid off an additional 740 employees at its Beaverton, Ore., global headquarters, which the company expected to amount to $2 billion in cost savings in anticipation of a drop in revenue.
Last month, Nike president and chief executive officer Elliott Hill told analysts that the company is “in the middle innings” of its comeback, adding that various areas of the business are in different phases of turnaround – China and the Converse brand being sore points for the Swoosh.
Net sales in the second quarter at the company tallied $12.43 billion, up 1 percent from $12.35 billion on a reported basis and flat on a currency-neutral basis. But net income fell 32 percent in the period to $792 million from $1.16 billion in the year-ago period.
