Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

@de it’s a bit strange that they laid off so many people recently, yet we’re still seeing lots of emails about hiring new VPs.

The most unsettling part isn’t any anonymous September prediction, it’s the silence that allows one to sound believable.

Employees can see the cost pressure, repeated reorganizations, external hiring, shrinking resources, and reluctance to challenge senior layers. If leadership wants people to dismiss the rumors, it should answer plainly:

Is another restructuring being planned? Which organizations are under review? Are leadership layers being assessed alongside individual contributors? Will internal placement happen before jobs are eliminated?

Until there are credible answers, people will assume decisions are already being made behind closed doors. Silence doesn’t prevent fear. It tells employees to prepare for the worst.

@j0 The LeBron James Innovation Center is allegedly getting gutted in September, an easy 10% purge, meaning 55–60 people sacrificed at the altar of ‘strategic efficiency’ while leadership protects its bloated paychecks. Courtesy of a finance bro who claims his sources are rock-solid because apparently that’s how employees receive critical information now.

@OP Nike needs to he sued off there a-s in some class action lawsuit. Incredibly irresponsible to go through all this hiring and firing and still hiring. I get retail is not for everyone so that chunk of open roles might not work, but move people around. Leaders are not acting like leaders at all. What I am reading on here, most of you all agree as well. It’s disturbing that HR is not pushing moves of all the talent inside the berm to new roles. I was termed by Nike 3 times in 31 years in layoffs like these. I will not try to go back this time. But man there is so much amazing talent and a cr-p ton of people who do not belong at Nike. Good luck to you all.

@OP well said. Let’s get rid of fake teams like RPO who are only insulated because their leader is the teachers pet. Meanwhile our teams are doing real work, adding actual value with less resources. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see it. It just takes someone without an ego to admit they made a mistake and formed an entire team that isn’t necessary. I guess the truth hurts when you have a moral compass and doing the right thing isn’t part of your moral compass.

what areas will be impacted and when?

Doesn’t help as we hire in cheap locations and cheap labor with poor quality. We don’t even know how to improve our efficiency post a layoff.

Need to cut 10% across the board and 50% at grade 45 and up. We are a top heavy org.

@bw it’s a balance. But overall we need talent assessment vs personal agendas

When is the reorg coming?

There are hundreds of perpetually green parking indicators at WHQ now. Green is always good at the swoosh. It'll be fine.

Nike Vision has the biggest margins. Who knew it would fall to them to save the citadel.

@by 100% and well-said. Working with that team is pain in the butt, no urgency and always want to control everything. Glad to see they have started to sideline some dinosaurs who contribute nothing but bureaucracy, we need more of that.

Another reorg is probably not going to save that team, they're barely touched in the previous reorgs, a deep cut is necessary which is unlikely.

Let's find out later this year, less than 5% cut would be a win for that team but a loss for the company.

If the problem is the product is not selling. Bring fresh design leadership. Same footwear leaders for decades.

@bw Start with innovation at the LeBron James Innovation Center. That entire team is fu--ing useless—overpaid, insulated, and far too comfortable accomplishing next to nothing while the company crumbles around them. They even have an entire operations team whose apparent function is to outsource the actual creative work to agencies, shuffle meetings around, and manufacture the illusion of productivity while collecting bloated paychecks. It’s corporate welfare disguised as innovation: all the titles, budgets, and self-congratulation, with none of the courage, urgency, or meaningful output.

The world has changed and “institutional knowledge” is a liability. Hire people who are exceptional at designing, building, marketing, and selling clothing and footwear, full stop. Also fire your CEO and every C level exec who has been at Nike for over 20 years. They have contributed to the company’s decline. As a shareholder, that is the only way I’ll have any confidence of a turn around.

Since Nike likes sports metaphors: if the company was an NBA team with multiple years of losing, the players and coaches would all be sacked and traded. Same thing needs to happen with senior leaders.

A talent hires A talent. B talent hires C talent. No A talent exists in the C Suite.