Nike plans to lay off 740 employees at its Oregon headquarters before end of June

Nike plans to lay off 740 employees at its Oregon headquarters before June 28, the company has told state officials.

The company notified state and local officials about the workforce reduction at its Beaverton, Oregon headquarters in a notice mandated by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act on Friday.

The sportswear giant "will be permanently reducing its workforce at its World Headquarters" in a "second phase of impacts" that would begin by June 28, wrote Nike vice president Michele Adams in the notice, first reported by Reuters and Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Two months ago, Nike CEO John Donahoe told employees in a memo of plans to reduce its workforce by about 2%, or more than 1,600 employees, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The company had about 83,700 employees as of May 31, 2023.

“Nike’s always at our best when we’re on the offense. The actions that we’re taking put us in the position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities as interest in sport, health and wellness have never been stronger," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. "While these changes will impact approximately 2% of our total workforce, we are grateful for the contributions made by all Nike teammates.”

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Nike layoffs are due to cost-cutting measures

The reductions are part of a three-year plan to cut $2 billion in costs Nike announced in December.

Nike is targeting cost reductions as it forecasts a "low single-digits" decline in revenue during the first half of its 2025 fiscal year – which begins June 1. "We are taking our product portfolio through a period of transition," Nike chief financial officer Matt Friend said during the March 21, 2024 earnings call.

Nike shares rose nearly 2% this past week, but are down more than 11% so far this year and have fallen more than 23% over 12 months.

More Nike news: Olympic uniform flap and will Caitlin Clark get her own shoe?

Earlier this week, Nike’s new 2024 Paris Olympic track and field uniforms were met with criticism for being too skimpy.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark, who on April 15 became the top pick in the WNBA draft, may be about to land a new eight-figure contract with Nike and get her own signature shoe, The Athletic reported.

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