Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

@qd Yeah, that person is awful. From everything I’ve seen and heard, she had a terrible reputation in previous roles. Many people disliked working with her because they felt she treated others with disrespect, and there were repeated accusations of racist behavior. The frustrating part is that this kind of situation is exactly the sort of workplace dysfunction people associate with Nike.

@1fj 🚨 Breaking: Professional uses professional tools. More at 11.

@18x ewww you used AI to write this

@qd There are also some accountability challenges that don't show up on an org chart. It's hard to take "we're overloaded" at face value when there are people who seem to master the art of being present without being particularly productive. Badge in, disappear for hours, grab the laptop mid-afternoon, then talk about how slammed they are. Organizations don't just lose performance through strategy, they lose it through tolerated behaviors.

Only 3% for innovation? That’s very kind actually…Not saying we should do mass layoffs but we should be able to at least get rid of many useless leaders/ layers like many people called out again and again. Nike as a company has been criticized for lack of innovation, we can not tolerate their incompetence, it’s time to show some accountability…

Innovation 100% getting hit. So many useless layers.

@vm The rumor making the rounds is that FC was the only team that got its numbers in before July 4. Everyone else in Innovation still has a headcount target to hit. If you’re in an org that’s over its number, you shouldn’t assume you’re safe. Once quotas enter the equation, almost everyone becomes expendable.

@bq he’ll make his earnings in savings

@a7 …there are a lot of managers and strategic thinkers/leaders… doers are rare.

@OP is all of innovation 3% over, or will restructuring be more focused in either FTWR, apparel, or space?

@qd I'd imagine that profile would be one of DD's first targets: expensive former expats whose contribution doesn't really justify the cost. Innovation had a handful of those over the years, though there aren't many left now. #deepcuts

It's not just innovation. Enabling functions have also been asked to scale headcount back. Legal, for example, still has too many VPs and Sr. Dir roles. September is when re-org activities are expected.

@cz I know of an innovation director spends three weeks a month traveling across Asia under the banner of “program management and transition.” The same leader introduced chemical engineering initiatives that failed—and continue to fail. Still employed. Still "leading". Accountability, apparently, depends on your title.

Another layoff, probably a few thousand again. You can see they are hugely scaling back on categories and marketing this half year. Need to show Wall Street that they are serious about cost cuts.

@bq Thoughts and prayers to all the Innovation Development Directors who were told face-to-face collaboration somehow only counted after a business-class boarding pass.

@cz where it's most costly is also where most of the inefficiencies and stagnancy lie..but what can be done about it? Wait for competent leaders to come it and see through it and get rid them or just sit and watch they continous decline of a once great company

How can this company perform so many layoffs and still have leadership ranks occupied by such incompetent people?? I look around and am surprised every day by the people who continue to be employed here, particularly at the Director band and above. No wonder the company is in a slump.

@c6 This has strong “I’m not like other clichés” energy.😂

You're an id--t offering the most generic, meaningless advice imaginable: "Focus on what you can control."

We are grown adults dealing with the ongoing collapse of the greatest brand in history - layoffs, financial uncertainty, and major life disruptions. Telling people to "just focus on what you can control" isn't insightful - it's a cliché everyone has heard a hundred times before. If that's the best advice you have, maybe skip lecturing people who are going through a difficult time. They're looking for practical information and genuine support, not empty platitudes.

Get your resumes updated and start seeking opportunities. Waiting around at Nike while waiting to get the axe is no way to live. Life is too short.

You have to remember also….DD is coming in and he needs to make an impact which means we need to do alot of cost saving measures. Buckle up things are gonna get very interesting this fall.

Hopefully they pick the right people this time if they have to reduce staff…Innovation is probably one of the most bloated org filling with layers of managers. It’s time to balance that with more doers if we are serious about innovation.