Nike cuts 1,400 jobs in latest Win Now restructuring push

Nike’s latest cut is not just a headcount story. When about 1,400 jobs come out of operations and technology, with most of the pain landing inside Global Operations and technology roles, it can reshape how fast the brand ships product, updates its digital storefront and pushes the next wave of innovation consumers actually feel.

The layoffs, announced Thursday, April 24, reached North America, Europe and Asia and amounted to less than 2 percent of Nike’s global workforce. Much of the reduction was concentrated at the company’s Beaverton, Oregon headquarters, where the brand’s behind-the-scenes machinery has long powered everything from supply chain planning to the digital experience around launches and membership.

Chief Operating Officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy told employees in a memo that the cuts were the “next phase of work already underway,” part of an effort to make Nike “leaner, faster and more responsive.” That language matters because it points to a company trying to strip friction out of the system, not just trim costs. In streetwear terms, that means fewer bloated layers between the product and the customer, a cleaner path from design to release, and less tolerance for slow-moving operations when the market expects constant motion.

This was Nike’s second round of layoffs in 2026. In January, the company eliminated 775 jobs at U.S. distribution centers tied to automation efforts, a move that signaled the brand was already reshaping the bones of its logistics network. Add in earlier workforce reductions last summer, and the pattern is hard to miss: Nike is rebuilding itself for a more automated, tighter, more digitally driven era.

The timing is just as telling. Nike has been working through a prolonged sales slump, with fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue of $11.3 billion for the period ended February 28, 2026. Net income fell 35 percent to $520 million, and diluted earnings per share slid to 35 cents. Nike has said Win Now actions will continue to affect results through the balance of the calendar year as it pushes for long-term profitable growth.

Shares rose about 0.5 percent in after-hours trading after the announcement, a modest sign that Wall Street sees discipline as part of the fix. But for shoppers, the bigger question is whether a leaner Nike becomes a sharper Nike, one that moves quicker on product drops, cleans up the digital experience and gets back to feeling like the brand that sets the pace instead of chasing it.