Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

WHQ has always been in Beaverton a--hole. If you don’t like it jump on JDs back and get the F out. No one is keeping you here.

Portland isn’t for everyone but Nike will never leave

I grew up in Beaverton, moved to Seattle after college. People think the dr-g vagrants aka "homeless" are bad here in Seattle...they need to take a trip south to PDX!

Portland? Isn't Nike HQ in Beaverton? Either way...Washington County is not much better than Multnomah.

You sound like the type of person that nobody would miss if you moved.

Never mind all the noise with people projecting their politics on this post.

The reason why WHQ is not optimal in Oregon, because its totally removed from the consumer for which is designs for. Instead, Nike spends infinite money on retail trips to cities around the world and tries to inhale consumer trends in a 4 day Sprinter van whirlwind or depends on social media to try to decipher snapshots of a fleeting moment.
Additionally, if you're not IN the marketplace looking at your concepts vs. the real world, your POV is biased.

*Someone will reply that it was never an issue in the 90s, but the world is different now and moves infinitely faster.

But yes, if you're young, single and from a diverse city, living in Portland is not what you want.

Moving to Portland is career su----e in tech.

If you don’t like it here move. I’ve lived in the Northeast and Midwest prior to coming here. No place is perfect and you have to compromise between job, cost of living and weather. Portland is dirt cheap compared to say New York and Boston. Good luck buying a house there that’s not far away or a dump
In a so so area. I do agree it is insular here and provincial. Not ideal and boring but if you have kids you don’t have a real life anyways. There is no snow here which is a plus.

@2tve+1uyHRrXe

If you thought sky over Portland is constantly gray, try living in Seattle or Amsterdam. After a decade in both, Portland feels much much sunnier and warmer and strikes a good balance of metro living without being more than an hour away from beach and mountain recreation. It's not LA sunny, but it's not LA smoggy either. Mental health is uber important and for the sake of yours, I hope you find a place that feels like home.

All I personally care about is a bigger city where the sun actually comes out and that is not as insular. I got diagnosed with depression after moving here, mainly because of how detached this place feels from everything else and the constantly gray skies on top of my actual problems that I already was dealing with. I don’t care about the cost of living in other places, I never complained about it in the past, even with a lower salary. I will pay the price to go back to sunnier cities and better mental health. I am happy for those of you who feel like home here. I wish I was on that boat. I tried, but I couldn’t do it. I also wish some of you could understand there are more points of view than whatever you believe and whatever you think someone who doesn’t like it here looks like.

Isn’t Portland one of the most liberal cities in the US? If you expect other cities in the US to be more progressive than Portland, you’re going to have a bad time…

anecdotally, Portland has a lot to do with Nike turnover for certain demographics. Everyone like me I’ve met and grown to know over the years have moved out because Portland is overwhelmingly white, racist, and insular. Especially faster flight for those with families. I’ve been tolerating Portland this long because I liked working at Nike, despite pressure from my wife because she’s been unhappy here for a long time. I’m only a job offer away from leaving as well. I gave Portland a fair shot for 15+ years and it’ll never feel like home.

“ If you move from WHQ to EHQ, wouldn’t you get a pay cut?”

You get a pay cut but you get housing benefits, also you still earn higher than your ehq peers..

Dear OP,
You are 100% correct. I recommend you moving to Chicago, LA, Bay/Oakland, Dallas or Phoenix. These are all some of the exquisite destinations where you can live happily and raise a family well.

That’s the point, we WANT to leave. Working on it. I don’t even understand why some people get so defensive about this. We don’t all like the same things, end of story.

Please leave if you don’t like living in Portland. The city and Nike both will be better without you.

Like an old friend from around here told me… “Boregon”

"Food scene" lol. Coming from a large city Portland is not for me. City isn't good for much. Food mediocre. People boring and slow. It's incredibly left but inherently white and still racist. It's like a joke upon itself. Someone with better words could write a good poem.

If you move from WHQ to EHQ, wouldn’t you get a pay cut?

I am one of those people who suffer living here, 100%. I understand all the good stuff, but Portland is not for me and that has been obvious since day one. If I didn’t like my job, I would quit and go. But I enjoy it, so I’m trying to find another job first. I’m sure I’m not alone. I wish I could be in the LA or NYC office.

“ so you can enjoy your little Euro trip on Nike's dime”

LOL this is so true it hurts

Oh, I suppose that's the reason why all the open positions at the EHQ are filled with folks from the WHQ—so you can enjoy your little Euro trip on Nike's dime. And yeah, I'm sure it's all based on merit.

I can assure you location has very little to do with turnover.

The places that would make sense (fiscally and location wise) would be Texas and WA.
LA, NY have incredibly high cost of living and income tax. WA and TX don’t have income tax, comparative cost of living to PDX with more entertainment options.
But Nike will always be in Beaverton - due to heritage, legacy of Phil and tax breaks the brand receives

Every company has this problem. Who else in the sportswear space has a WHQ somewhere people want to live and the cost of living/salary ratio is considered a good fit?

Herzogenaurach? Boston? Seattle? Baltimore? I don’t think so.

Opening offices in the SF/LA/NY area help attract talent but then everyone complains about cost and disconnection. Can’t have it both ways.

I like Portland, but I can understand why people young in their careers may not. However, senior leaders not being on campus is infuriating. They shouldn’t be surprised at the AES results when that is the “care” they put into the company.