June 16 (UPI) — Footwear and sportswear company Nike Inc. announced a restructuring that will result in the elimination of 1,400 jobs worldwide.
The Oregon-based company’s plan will reduce the number of available products by 25 percent. The company issue a statement Thursday, though, saying it expects get the products to market more quickly.
The staff reductions make up about 2 percent of the company’s 70,000 workforce.
The statement said Nike will focus on sales in 12 cities — New York, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Barcelona, Seoul, and Milan — in countries where it expects 80 percent of its growth to occur.
Nike reported a 5.9 percent increase in sales in 2016, over 2015, to $32.4 billion, but is losing market share to competitors Adidas and Under Armor. The restructuring plan announced Thursday is similar to a plan Adidas revealed two years ago, the Oregonian said.
