(New York) The ax falls at sportswear giant Nike, which will cut 2% of its global workforce, or a little more than 1,600 jobs, in order to reduce its operating costs.
The American company, headquartered in Oregon, joins the list of companies, including Estée Lauder and Levi Strauss & Co, which have announced job cuts in recent weeks.
Nike argues that it wants to reinvest the money it saves in areas it sees as high growth, such as sports, health and wellness.
As of May 31, 2023, Nike employed approximately 84,000 workers, according to its annual report.
THE Wall Street Journal was the first to report these cuts at Nike on Friday.
“Nike is always at its best when we play offense,” the company said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press confirming the layoffs.
In December, Nike lowered its annual sales forecast for the current fiscal year after reporting lower-than-expected second-quarter results.
Company executives told analysts at the time that they were seeing more cautious consumer behavior globally amid an “uneven macroeconomic environment.”
At that time, Nike announced that it would cut its business by up to US$2 billion over the next three years in an effort to simplify product assortment and increase automation and the use of technology.
The company added that most of the savings would be used to accelerate innovation.
“We see an exceptional opportunity to generate long-term profitable growth,” said Nike President and CEO John Donahoe in a statement released in December.
“Today, we are embarking on a company-wide journey to invest in our areas of highest potential, accelerate the pace of our innovation and accelerate our agility and responsiveness. »
Nike shares fell just over 4% to US$101.74 on Friday morning.