FILE - Nike shop in downtown Portland, Ore.
Evan Sernoffsky / OPB
Nike is slashing its Beaverton workforce by 740 employees, the global sportswear and sneaker company informed Oregon officials Friday.
“NIKE, Inc. will be permanently reducing its workforce at its World Headquarters located at One Bowerman Dr., Beaverton, OR 97005, and surrounding neighborhoods,” the company wrote in its notice to the state. “As a result of a second phase of impacts, which will take effect by June 28, 2024, approximately 740 employees at World Headquarters will have been impacted by this and the recent prior permanent reduction of workforce.”
Nike said in February it would lay off 2%, or about 1,600 employees, across its workforce because of the company’s less-than-stellar performance as of late. Nike leaders have pointed to lower online sales as one of the reasons behind the downsizing.
“Nike’s always at our best when we’re on the offense,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to OPB Friday. “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 sportswear giant told the state it’s still determining what job titles are being eliminated.
This isn’t the first time Nike has sought to restructure its workforce in an effort to trim costs. In 2017 the company also laid off 2% of its global workforce, which then represented about 1,400 employees.
Nike’s origins trace back to Eugene in the 1960s. The company’s co-founder and former CEO Phil Knight was a track athlete at the University of Oregon who famously sold running shoes out of the back of his car at local meets.
