Nike To Cut Less Than 1% Of Corporate Staff In Restructuring

Nike Inc. is laying off less than 1% of its corporate staff as the world’s largest sportswear maker restructures its organization and tries to a spark turnaround.

The company has 77,800 employees worldwide, but doesn’t break out how many work in company offices.

“The moves we’re making are about setting ourselves up to win and create the next great chapter for Nike,” Nike’s senior management said in an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg News.

Nike shares rose 0.5% on Thursday afternoon. The stock had been up 3.2% this year through Wednesday’s close, trailing a 10% gain for the S&P 500 Index.

Nike Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill has spent much of the first year of his tenure realigning his organizational structure to position the brand for the comeback bid. In May, Nike downsized its technology division and laid off some employees as Hill reset the company’s priorities.

Hill finished months of ousters, promotions and hirings in his C-suite in June. The rearrangements flattened the organization’s leadership structure and changed 11 of Hill’s 15 direct reports across divisions from sports marketing to product design. The next month, Nike replaced the CEO of subsidiary Converse.

In the memo, executives told corporate employees in the US and Canada to work remotely next week as the process begins.

“Change can be difficult,” they said in the memo. “It can also be what sharpens the edge.”