Doomsday for Nike because it axes 1,400 jobs after brutal gross sales drop brought on by woke push

Retail giant Nike has announced a fresh wave of job cuts, slashing around 1,400 roles on Thursday in a move set to send shockwaves through its workforce.

The latest layoffs – which are understood to fall heavily on its technology division – come as the sportswear behemoth pushes ahead with a major overhaul aimed at sharpening its competitive edge.

Bosses insist the cuts form part of its aggressive ‘Win Now’ strategy, designed to streamline operations and position the company for future growth in an increasingly challenging retail landscape.

But the move will raise fresh concerns for staff, coming just months after Nike axed a further 775 roles back in January – bringing the total number of jobs lost this year to more than 2,000.

In a stark internal memo, Nike laid bare the scale of its sweeping shake-up, as senior executives moved to reassure staff amid a fresh round of brutal cuts.

Nike shares hit an 11-year low on April 13, capping a brutal stretch that has seen the company lose around 75 percent of its value since shares peaked in 2021.

It is now worth about $70 billion – a third of the value of TJ Maxx.

Its stock has slightly recovered in recent days, and jumped in after hours trading on news of the job cuts – which Wall Street sees as a cost cutting measure to boost profits.

Writing to employees, Chief Operating Officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy said the layoffs form part of the company’s wider ‘Win Now’ turnaround strategy. 

This refers to a radical overhaul that will see its technology team reshaped, elements of its Air manufacturing modernized, parts of its Converse footwear operations relocated and its materials supply chain folded into broader footwear and apparel divisions.

‘Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology,’ Alagirisamy wrote. ‘These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.’

A spokesperson for Nike insisted the cuts are aimed at sharpening the firm’s ability to keep pace with the fast-moving sports market while accelerating future growth, according to CNBC.

The layoffs will hit staff across North America, Asia and Europe, though the company stressed they account for less than 2 per cent of its global workforce.

‘This is not a new direction,’ Alagirisamy wrote. ‘It is the next phase of the work already underway.’

Affected employees are set to be notified starting Thursday, the company confirmed – marking another anxious chapter for workers at the embattled retail giant. 

The brand is being hit by a triple whammy: backlash to its more ‘woke’ image shift, a failed retreat from major retail partners in favor of direct-to-consumer selling, and a deepening slump in China. 

The scale of the pressure inside Nike was laid bare in a recent all-hands meeting, where CEO Elliott Hill struck an unusually blunt tone with staff in a recording leaked to Bloomberg News.

‘I’m so tired, and I know you are, too, of talking about fixing this business,’ Hill said during the meeting. ‘I want to move to inspiring and driving growth and having fun.’

‘You can’t just sit there and say everything’s great,’ Hill said, referring to the investor call. ‘Frankly it needed to be different.’ 

For years, conservatives have criticized Nike for a shift toward ‘woke’ culture, pointing to partnerships with political activists such as Colin Kaepernick, who protested during the national anthem. The company also faced backlash over its company’s all-female Super Bowl ad.