Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

If you’re looking at a layoff rumor site for RTO Relo advice it’s a good indication that Nike probably isn’t worth moving for.

@4yin happy folks don’t get mad at randos on the internet venting about their own personal experience. Maybe spend some time reflecting on why you’re so upset by this. Love & light

@2lif sounds like you’re pi---d bc you didn’t do your research prior to moving to WHQ/Beaverton/Portland from the east coast. Maybe if you hate it so much you can go back?! No one is forcing you to stay here.

@3yds as someone from Sacramento, I’m shocked anyone would recommend that over Pdx

Portland, OR is a great place if you like nature, pubs and weed. The homelessness crisis, lack of diversity and cost of housing are reasons to not want to be here. The city is liberal with a lot of white diversity, but there is unconscious bias everywhere due to the lack of diversity. Nike is full of white Senior Directors and VP types who force homogenous thinking in the culture any outsider will feel it. Hood to Coast is a Tribal ritual for white people. 90%. In that respect, the new CEO has done a good job in breaking Silos The east side lacks diversity. The west side has a lot of Asian Indians around Hillsboro. Very few Black people are there except NE Nike has some senior Black executives. That being said most people are fair-minded and respectful and lots of interracial couples. There are some racists here who have been known to attack people of color. On the whole, Portland has seen its best days. The Mayor is an id--t and City Council and Governor left side of communists. Austin and Sacramento. Charlotte NC are a better choice.

I've lived a lot of different places, including Europe. Is it the best place I have lived, no, but is it a good place to live, yes!

Perfect it is not, but I relocated from Europe… had a wonderful time. If you like Nike, and work for Nike, WHQ is pretty nice! Sporting facilities are great on campus. The Oregon coast is wonderful. Mt. Hood, Bend, Sunriver…

After moving here 7 years ago from the east coast, I’d say two big pros. PST Timezone - football, big sporting events always start at a really good time. Food is absolutely amazing here, sure it’s expensive but not New York, Boston, Atlanta prices.

Cons - people are friendly face value but you’ll never truly make real friends up here unless they’re also outsiders (outside of the Portland metro).
Portland metro is expensive housing wise - it’s kind of hard to get ahead.

Overall it’s meh but a lot of cities fall into those categories. More concerning trend is the homelessness but it’s gotten better since 2020. Which isn’t saying much.

Got relo’d a few months back from the east coast and I still hate it. All the earlier comments are very right, and I wish I had done more research before accepting this role. If I knew everything I know now (cost of housing, lack of diversity, moving to 4/1, commuting, the true effects of SAD) I would’ve politely declined. if you’re happy where you are stay there and look for alternative employment.

I wouldn't rely unless 1. the company way paying for it and 2. there was a re-home clause if I was laid off, depending my level and location. This is a common clause in expat contacts and should be for US moves as well.

As for Portland: ask what you value in a city?

If it is access to art, culture, or an international community, or sunshine, I would say do not move here. OR, give yourself a time limit and keep relationships where you are moving from.

If you like nature, the outdoors and hiking, but don't care about any of the things noted above, it's a great place. Just know it's still a pretty sleepy town that goes to bed early, only has a few bars, has a terrible dating scene, and almost no diversity of thought, socioeconomic background, culture, or ethnicity. But people here do love to preach like they knows something about all of those things!

Relocating now is a tough call. One needs to ask is the company paying for the relo or is it self ? What assurance is there that you will have a job for at least a year or two? What other choices do you have ? If no other options then little risk. If you have a fistful of offers stay away.

@trw+1qGLCJTj I wouldn’t call the burning cars or people smoking me-h on the corner clean exactly, but less pollution than some other cities for sure

tl;dr
Portland - it's where young people go to retire.
Pro's -
Pretty, clean, good food, hiking
Con's -
No diversity. Mostly white, virtue signaling, entitled liberals.
Friendly at a superficial level. You'll not make any deep connections here.
Depressing weather 9 months of the year.
High state income taxes.

I moved to Portland suburbs for Nike and I don’t regret it. I have loved having a family in the safe suburbs. There are parks everywhere and a lot of things for kids to do. The scenery is beautiful and I love being able to go to the beach in the summer and the mountain in the winter. I prefer west coast culturally and I like being close to Seattle and California. Campus is incredible and I would be sad to not be able to go anymore. I like Portland but I also like not living in Portland. I like visiting and then going home the suburbs.

There are a few things that could be better. The weather can be a drag. I have grown used to it but I know a lot of families leave for the sun in late winter. The lack of diversity is very real and upsetting to me as a person and a parent. I did not grow up in a similar environment. Someone else described it as “awkward” and I agree. It is so awkward, and even more awkward at Nike. And lastly, the schools in Oregon are struggling and if your child is anything but “typical”, it can be a frustrating experience.

I think I would still like it even if I didn’t have a family. I think Seattle probably has more to offer, but i also like how small Portland is.

PLEASE DO NOT relocate to Portland/Beaverton for two primary reasons: 1) you’ll live in constant anxiety of next layoff that will come every 2-3 years undoubtedly 2) family and close friends are so important - if you have no family in Oregon don’t move.

Man. No one in Portland is a local.

People presenting as “locals” have been here for ‘only’ 20 years.

Or they were born here and as young adults are now coming to the realization that there’s not a lot of jobs around and they cannot afford to live where they grew up.

He-l. To count as “native” on the homeless point-in-time counts you just needed to have an address in the city before ending up on the streets.

It’s a toxic social dynamic all around. The only times it’s not toxic is when you’re in your bubble or in a superficial social situation.

Portland, and PNW in general, is insanely beautiful and the city is one of the greenest and friendliest I've seen, and that includes picturesque European cities. You'll find a lot of people who relocated here not because of a job, but out of desire to live here, mostly because of nature and an accepting community. Also, the food is awesome.

It does have a specific culture though. It's one of presenting yourself as a person, rather than as a professional, or your job title, or whatever fancy thing you want yourself to be seen as. I was shocked when I moved here that none of my new friends talked about their jobs or their grand career plans. Not that they are not interested in what they do, but it's like it is irrelevant to why people gather together. Unlike planning a hike which makes everyone madly excited.

For that reason, value clashes between the newly relocated career-motivated folks and 'the locals' are tangible. Some people never adapt here. There is a bad connotation in 'they are from California", usually meaning someone obsessed with their status or money and wanting to show off. Relocants from the big East coast cities suffer because for big exhibitions, concerts, etc. you have to drive for three hours to Seattle. Relocants from small East coast cities are elated that they can get to a big exhibition or a concert in Seattle driving their own cars and in just three hours.

My favorite text about Portland is this: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-typical-friday-in-oregon-as-imagined-by-my-east-coast-friends

Before i catch myself writing an essay about this topic I feel so strongly about , I’ll just say this if you are a white or white passing person who enjoys the outdoors, overpriced food and cost of living and being in a small town “ city” then yes please come here. If none of those apply to you, then don’t. Because if this place in fact does not appeal to you and you find out too late, do to the job market nationally and how small this city actually is you will end up stuck.

While mostly everything already posted here is pretty accurate IMO, it's hard to say whether YOU will enjoy living there. Some people don't mind sacrificing and leaving the life they know and family to work for Nike. Sadly, with the volatility of layoffs and reorgs every 2 years it makes it very scary to make such a huge investment only to be left on your own to figure out how to get back home.

Can really only speak to my personal experience. If your life and family is on the east coast, the PNW is pretty much the furthest point away on the contiguous US you can be (yes further than LA) Flights are long and limited. That is very tough.

I’ve been at WHQ for 3 years now and I personally would not relocate from a location I enjoyed. Yeah the campus is great and all but it doesn’t outweigh the culture tbh.

Meh. That’s how I feel about Portland. If I got laid off I would relocate. This is a typical smaller city with not a ton going on like a Cincinnati. The locals are insular and the transplants have to fend for themselves. Families should live in the burbs for schools. Housing has gotten expensive. Downtown used to be nice but now it seems like a homeless zone. It’s ok but it’s no LA, Nyc, Chicago. I feel like a lot of what the place had going has been eroded away such as cheap housing, vibrant downtown and career growth.

I was excited to relo to Portland given my experiences there 10+ years ago. Nike/Beaverton is not in the city, and all above descriptions of Portland itself are accurate. Overall very suburban and feels very stepford-wifey. I haven’t been laid off and am happy for my employment, but I do somewhat regret coming to Nike. I like the job and the people, but the money isn’t exceptional and the corporate culture can be pretty culty and toxic. Unless you’re a very specific type of suburbanite you probably won’t realize your full potential here. I thank god every day that I didn’t buy a house, but I’m still going broke to make money in this 4/1 environment with the commute and everything else. I’m looking elsewhere and suggest you either try to negotiate hybrid/remote or look for something else.

@sts nails it. Portland is pretty awful. Even if you're single, the dating pool is terrible. Imagine the laziest, most self-centered and socially awkward group of people; then imagine the worst of that group moving someplace to be near more people like themselves. Add a huge pinch of SAD and other mental illness and finding anyone motivated and sane starts to seem like an impossible task.

OP, if you like where you're at, if you have a good community, if you get plenty of sun all year round, if you feel confident you can find another job that will meet your needs, I say pull the ripcord. Portland Metro is at best a small pond full of algae/pond sc-m. Personally I am looking for something in California/Texas. I've had enough of the people and weather here.

I don’t regret LEAVING Portland.

Commuting is terrible. Unless you live directly in Beaverton you’re going to hate your life. Especially if you moved anywhere near downtown Portland, or heaven forbid across the Willamette (forcing you to use one of ~7 overcrowded & aging bridges daily).

Racially, it’s the most awkward city in America. Filled with virtue signaling from well-off white people that have only ever talked to well-off white people. The type of people that push Latinx without ever listening to a Latino’s opinion on the subject.
Only city I’ve been chastised in for chasing a criddler away from my car; they were winding up to break the window and my neighbor yelled at ME. Like it was my fault for not housing, feeding, & buying them their next high.

Housing is too expensive for what you get. And your home value can be tanked at any time. There’s entire neighborhoods in Portland where homeless activity makes it impossible to find a buyer at any price. And those camps can move at any time.

Job-wise, there’s only a few big companies in the region. If Nike lays you off, and Nike has significant layoffs every 2 years (not exaggerating), you will likely have to pay to relocate yourself out of the city to find work.

Lastly, if you intend to start a family just don’t move to Portland. The region is filled with young adults and compared to other regions has nothing to offer young children or families. Only the very poor or very rich have kids, and the local community’s offerings reflect that. From schools to fun-activities you will regret trying to raise a family in the PNW.
It’s probably better with teens, lots of outdoor activities for that age group. But the lack of diversity in the region will most likely have them grow up with the same temperament as an indoor-only chihuahua.

@nlg+1qGLCJT There are a lot of people whom Nike JUST laid off who come on this board, it’s common.

Some of us are hoping to find a job, keep up with company shifts, etc. the job market is pretty frozen at the moment, if you haven’t noticed.

First off, Portland in general is great. But Nike is not in Portland. It’s in Beaverton, which can be a bit of a commute 4 times per week depending on where you live. Beaverton is getting better and not so much of a dull suburb.

It isn’t very diverse here, but pretty liberal. WHQ (assuming you’re not main campus) is surreal. Beautiful, great gyms, eats, scenery, it has everything.

On the other note for the first commenter, if Nike laid you off why would you still check this board?

For sure. Campus life has shown itself to be quite toxic.

Nike moved me and my family and then laid me off and so yes, I regret it. Worst mistake of my career given the job market numbers are inflated and there are no jobs in this industry right now