Nike is making more job cuts, with about 1 percent of its corporate staff set to be laid off.
According to reports, employees in the United States and Canada have been told to work from home until September 8 while leadership figures out the next steps. Everyone will regroup on September 10, and new roles are expected to take effect later in the month.
The company has already been through several rounds of layoffs since last year, and this is another move in a larger effort to cut costs and refocus on growth. Nike currently has about 77,800 employees worldwide, which is fewer than the 83,700 it had two years ago.
CEO Elliott Hill says the shake-up is meant to get the brand back on track. Part of the plan is to lean harder into wholesale partners like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, after the previous strategy had moved away from them. Even with that change, Nike’s latest results showed sales falling in almost every region and across different product categories.
But for people in the skateboarding world, the big question is what this means for Nike SB. The skate line has been a huge part of the company’s culture for years, known for shoes like the SB Dunk that often sell out as soon as they drop. Skaters have built a strong connection to the line because it feels authentic and tied to the community, not just another branch of a massive corporation.
With the company tightening up budgets, some worry that projects in skateboarding could slow down, especially collaborations with artists and skaters that usually bring fresh energy into the brand. At the same time, others think Nike SB might actually benefit from a sharper focus, with more attention given to the core skate shoes that keep people loyal.
Skateboarding has only gotten bigger in recent years, especially since it became part of the Olympics, and Nike has been right there with it. For a lot of younger skaters, their first pair of real skate shoes were SBs. That’s why this restructuring feels like more than just business news. It could shape how Nike shows up in skateboarding going forward, at a time when staying true to the culture is more important than ever.
For now, employees are waiting to see how the changes affect their jobs, and skaters are hoping the brand keeps supporting the scene that has helped Nike SB become what it is today.