Stock price dipping, SC issues, covid still ruling the world, political tension at home and abroad it is understandable that the company does suffer! However as they always do, they will look at the cost line and push for another re-org...best way to continue with what they had to stop with, and fix the financials on the short term...Any thoughts?
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@2bok, Nike is trying to outsource anything and everything possible. You’re right that Nike needs the people resources. But there are tens of millions of skilled people overseas who will work 3x harder than you for 1/3 the pay. Nike is trying to minimize the FTE roster and between outsourcing and machine learning/AI that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I’ll all but guarantee that 5 years from now there will be fewer FTE’s who are mostly managing a small army of contractors. That means layoffs will happen and you can bank on that. If you think “My job is unique and can’t be outsourced” you might be surprised. I’d estimate that at least 50% of FTE positions at Nike can be outsourced. Perhaps as much as two-thirds. That is what the future holds and it’s coming faster than you realize.
Looking at this thread..I was one of those people in November when I was laid off. I never thought it would happen to me, I did everything. My work was always complete, led calls, and drove new initiatives. Never knew why my layoff was going to happen, sure I got the severance…but still, it was unexpected. Found a better job within 2 weeks, but I liked my time with Nike. Just disappointing because I took the job with Nike and was laid off the next year
I agree with @2vkc. I think once JD's options become vested, He'll step down.
My feeling is we'll have him for 2 more FYs then promote a replacement for FY 2025. That will be 4 years, he'll have done his job and probably retire or move into another company's role as an advisor. Dude is pretty old I think, he'll be 65 by 2025. This will give Nike plenty of time to groom someone inside for the CEO job, likely HON in my opinion. She's a Nike tenured leader, familiar with the business and knows the culture well.
I'm sure someone will yell "woke pick" but literally who else would you pick? Most logical to me.
I don't know what people they would layoff, we barely have enough people to fill out an organization unit. Sounds like a lot of FUD on this post. Doing another massive layoff would definitely jeopardize Nike's bottom line.
When all this bloody transition is finalized, they will promote a " friendly & familiar face" from inside the company to take the brand further for another 10 years. JD was brought in to do this dirty job, get rid of the old staff, push for digitalized business processes, grow e-com and DTC. He does it exactly how it was intended, with no emotion, step by step, quick and ugly. When this is done, he will be greeted away with a big fat check. Nike is seriously bad in managing its workforce, attrition is very high, no one leaves by themselves, managers do not know how to assess, manage and grow the talent, HR wants nothing to do with it either. So only ways to evolve is to do reorgs every few years like they do, who is better option to do it than a few external people who have no emotional connection to the company. I left the brand sometime ago by own choice, if I were you, I would not sit around and wait till it's your turn. Take the matters in your hands, forget the severance, if you change now for 20-30-40% higher salary, you will make up for that in a year, and as a bonus, believe me that you could sleep better at night.
I doubt there will be large layoffs in the near future but I have no doubt that the era of job security at Nike is officially over. JD himself said he views employees more like professional athletes who need to be replaced on a regular basis. We saw this attitude in action during the layoffs of the last two years where I saw several people let go who were the LAST people I ever thought would be terminated.
It used to be that if you were good at your job, reliable, and people generally liked you, you never had to worry too much about job security. Those days are now gone. Layoffs are now random and seemingly arbitrary. No one at Nike should ever make the mistake of trying to justify to themselves “They wouldn’t ever lay me off because….”. Oh yes they would! Your role, your performance, your contributions…none of that matters if someone decides your groups budget needs to shrink. If you ever get laid off there’s a good chance you’ll have no idea why you were selected. There’s an even better chance it won’t make any sense. This is why too many employees these days are nervous wrecks and why morale is low. They know that no matter how much effort they put in it ultimately might not matter when the hammer comes down. Having been at Nike more than 10 years now I just assume I’m going to be let go at some point. I’ve been struggling with whether to take my chances or leave on my own terms. Even my partner knows I stress about it more than I probably should. Thanks JD. You did all of us a solid the last two years. /s
Nike works for Wall Street. That is the culture now.
A new wave of layoffs is coming. No question about that. I’ve heard rumblings from folks ‘in the know’.
Who tf loves firing people? JD will hit his benchmarks, extract value from the company, and then exit leaving it in flames for whoever that is left to rebuild.
They used to foster their employees careers- that ship has sailed. Don't wait around for your turn. Surviving rounds of reorgs/layoffs may lead you to believe that it will not happen to you. That you're guaranteed a seat in this twisted game of musical chairs. But, the continuous shifting of leadership will leave you vulnerable each time, having to start over each time to prove your worth. Eventually someone will not see your value. It is sad to see folks that have spent 20 years with the company suddenly and traumatically being shown the door. Or you may get reassigned to a completely new role without being asked or given options. You also may find yourself suddenly choosing between a demotion and a severance package for no better reason than "reorg" in a surprise Zoom meeting by a high level leader and unannounced HR rep.
Nike has sold out completely. Don't get conformable or settled- security isn't there. Retaining talent and institutional knowledge is not a priority. Do not give them your loyalty. Don't break yourself trying to prove your worth to them. They will not invest in you. They typically do not promote from within. Their raises do not keep up with inflation. They will just extract all they can from you and then cast you aside. This is not a good place for a career. As others here have said, they've become Old Guard. Get your bullet on your resume while it still has value and move on.
The irony of JD anointing himself as some sort of coaching guru at a company founded by one of the actual great ones is not lost on me. I find it amazing he's more proud of how many dreams he's destroyed over how many people he's pulled up from the ranks to greatness.
"i love firing people" - jd
"at bain we managed out 75%+ of our workforce within 3 years" - jd
Seriously, I just do not care what Nike does anymore. Truly tired of this! Fire me, lay me off, etc. WHATEVER comes I’ll deal with and I am ready for it.
I had to pause reading this post. Nike is Nike. Using “We” as referring to Nike is all good until they show you the door or you choose to leave. Do not wrap your identity around any corporation. Bound to make your departure very challenging.
After reading the recent articles about JD, I would say it’s almost certain.
That Vietnam closure was substantial. We’re feeling the inventory shortage now. The silver lining is that we were transparent with Wall Street and every other company sourcing out of Asia shares this experience. China felt the inventory shortage in Q2 and dipped, now it’s the rest of the Geos for Q3. Hopefully we sold enough at full price retail to make up for this.
Tough times right now. Thankfully, it’s a shared experience in the worldwide supply chain, and markets have already priced in all of our transparent forward looking statements.