By Amanda Prestigiacomo
“Woke” brand Nike suffered a stunning $790 million loss last quarter and has confirmed they are laying off staffers, Business Insider reported Friday.
Part of the massive loss comes due to the effects of the coronavirus response, the report said; however, Nike CEO John Donahoe said “layoffs were not related to the pandemic.”
The layoffs, according to the CEO, are part of an effort to restructure an “overburdened matrix,” according to Complex’s knowledge of an internal email sent from Donahoe.
“These decisions are exceptionally difficult because they impact friends and colleagues at Nike,” the CEO told employees via email, Complex said. “You have my personal commitment that we will put people at the center throughout this entire process. We will support everyone impacted by this transition.”
“Consumer Direct Acceleration is the next digitally empowered phase of our strategy,” Nike said in a statement to Business Insider. “We are building a flatter, nimbler company and transforming Nike faster to define the marketplace of the future. We are shifting resources and creating capacity to reinvest in our highest potential areas, and we anticipate our realignment will likely result in a net loss of jobs.”
“We are committed to showing compassion and respect for our transitioning employees through thoughtful and robust severance practices, consistent with our company values, our legal obligations, the competitive marketplace and individual employee situations,” the statement added.
In 2018, controversial activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was signed to Nike in a “top of the line” deal.
“Sports agents were hesitant to predict an exact dollar figure for what the deal could be worth,” Money reported at the time, adding, “But due to the sheer amount of exposure Kaepernick’s sponsorship deal has already generated, it wouldn’t be outrageous for it to land somewhere in the ballpark of millions of dollars per year, they said.”
full story at https://www.dailywire.com/news/nike-suffers-790-million-loss-ceo-confirms-layoffs