In an unhealthy management org like Nike (and a lot of other companies really), the doers spend their time and energy making things work better through data, expertise, and processes, while the talkers spend their time and energy stealing from doers and creating networks to consolidate their positions and climb their way up.
When layoffs occur, the talkers are in the higher management positions where they are either more known to the folks with decision powers, or have created a false brand for themselves that they are driving valuable company work, which they of course rely on the doers for but never attribute proper credit to. Nike is rampant with folks taking internal, or even very public credit, for work they have never touched.
This cycle repeats itself year over year, with doers leaving and talkers entering, and the percentage of talkers grows at the upper levels, but also starts to creep down towards the doers. This comes to a head when there are so few doers and they are surrounded by bosses and peers who are talkers, increasing frustrating, decreasing motivation, and resulting in an implosion of reduced productivity.
In a healthy management org, doers still do what they do best, but managers are listening to them, giving credit, encouraging opportunities, and providing exposure. They are talking for the doers, not just themselves. They also hire with the help of doers with the mindset of creating more product value through expertise, not just to do the work for them, or consolidate their positions in coming years. This creates a strong atmosphere of trust and psychological safety within the org, which promotes collaboration, innovation, creativity, and makes people actually want to come to work and do what they do best.
Nike is a pretty mature company. It takes years or even decades of toxicity to seep into and erode its foundations. Unseen at first, but slowly cracks start to show outside the foundations, and the collapse then occurs suddenly and catastrophic. These layoffs might feel huge to a lot of folks, but the numbers are very small if you compare to other company layoff numbers in the tens of thousands. You all already feel, there are still plenty of folks in the upper echelons or even peers, that sit in the talker category and have prevailed. It is but another large crack in the foundation, and it will take a strong and brave switching of the guard at the top, that solicits feedback from the doers, to truly make a difference.
I thought this belonged in its own thread. The OP is @qiy+1rgc6cV3.