Report: Nike Lays Off Some Workers in Secret Sneaker Archives Department

The Department of Nike Archives (DNA) has a small number of workers whose job is to collect, catalog, and store more than 200,000 of the brand’s shoes and other items, Bloomberg reported Thursday:

The outlet continued:

Located in a complex tucked inside Nike headquarters in Oregon, the archive was started in 2006 as a place to preserve and record Nike’s past. Closed to the public, access is typically reserved for designers, researchers and marketers to use for inspiration in product development and advertising.

The world’s largest sportswear company has embarked on a plan to slash $2 billion in costs and is laying off about 2% of its global workforce. In an internal memo sent to employees in February, Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said that Nike needs to “edit, shift and divest less critical work” as it reallocates resources.

In February, Breitbart News reported Nike had begun laying off 1,600 employees, a move CEO Donahoe called “a painful reality,” the article said.

“We are not currently performing at our best, and I ultimately hold myself and my leadership team accountable,” he added.

Nike’s stock fell more than ten percent in December on the heels of the news that that company was planning to cut $2 billion from its budget, per Breitbart News. The outlet noted there were also reports the company had a weak sales outlook.

“Sales reportedly fell short in China, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. With strong U.S. and Asian sales, revenues were up but only about one percent year-over-year,” the article said.

According to the Bloomberg report, the cuts have affected approximately 750 workers in different departments at the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

“Converse, a Nike subsidiary that operates out of Boston, was also impacted by the layoffs,” the outlet stated.

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