Nike to layoff 740 Portland area workers

 BEAVERTON, Ore. (KPTV) – Nike has announced the layoff 740 workers at its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, as part of a company restructuring plan.

On Friday, the company reported the layoffs to the state’s Office of Workforce Investments.

The filing is the start of a second wave of layoffs. The company previously let go a number of workers in February.

In February, CEO John Donahoe announced that Nike would layoff 2% of its total workforce, or about 1,600 people, but didn’t provide specifics.

The layoffs in Oregon announced Friday do not affect retail stores or manufacturing facilities. Only workers at Nike’s campus in Beaverton will be affected.

Nike provided the following statement to KPTV on Friday:

“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. While these changes will impact approximately 2% of our total workforce, we are grateful for the contributions made by all Nike teammates.”

Nike is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest employers, with more than 15,500 employees in Oregon and Southwest Washington, and more than 83,000 employees worldwide.

Nike cutting more than 1,500 jobs

Nike to lay off 2% of employees, cutting more than 1,500 jobs during broad restructuring

• Nike is cutting 2% of its current workforce as it looks to reinvest in its growth areas and streamline its business.
• The sneaker giant is contending with a slowdown in consumer spending and looking to save $2 billion over the next three years as part of a restructuring plan.
• “This is how we will reignite our growth,” CEO John Donahoe said in a memo obtained by CNBC.

Shortly before the restructuring was announced, The Oregonian reported that Nike had been quietly laying off employees over the past several weeks and had signaled that it was planning for a broader restructuring. A series of divisions saw cuts, including recruitment, sourcing, brand, engineering, human resources and innovation, the outlet reported.