Nike's April Plan to Cut About 1,400 Roles Targeted Mostly Technology, With Tech Work Focused on Beaverton and India

In April, Nike announced a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in Global Operations, with the majority in Technology, in a note Chief Operating Officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy sent to employees on April 23, 2026. The cuts were set to affect staff in North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company's total global head count, and to include positions at the world headquarters in Beaverton. Store teams and product design do not appear among the four changes Nike listed. For Metaintro readers, the useful part is what the note actually changes, which teams and places it names, and what an affected engineer or operations worker can do in the first weeks.

What Did Nike Announce on April 23?

The move is the next phase of the work already underway, not a new direction, Alagirisamy wrote. In April, Nike was in the final stretch of its Win Now action plan, and the changes were set to take effect in the coming weeks, with changes to some team structures, work locations and headcount.

Affected staff were to hear directly from their leaders and HR partners starting today, meaning the day the note went out.

Looking ahead, Alagirisamy wrote that a less complex Nike means using more advanced automation where it helps Nike work better, and that he expected these efforts to continue beyond the Win Now action plan.

These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too, Chief Operating Officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy wrote, according to the Nike note to employees.

Which Nike Teams Are Affected by the Cuts?

Nike listed four changes inside Global Operations.

• Technology Modernization. Nike said it was reshaping its Technology team to build leaner teams, consolidating its technology footprint and focusing on two hubs, the Philip H. Knight Campus and the Nike India Technology Center.
• Air Manufacturing Modernization. Nike said work was changing across its Air Manufacturing Innovation facilities in Beaverton, Ore., St. Louis and Vietnam, including adjusting staffing to match the needs of the business.
• Converse Ground Game. Nike said some Converse Footwear Manufacturing and Engineering resources were moving closer to factory partners, though no locations were provided.
• Materials Supply Chain Integration. Nike said materials work was being positioned closer to the Footwear and Apparel Supply Chain teams.

Nike gave no split by team or country beyond saying the majority of the reductions are in Technology.

Why Did Nike Cut Technology Jobs in April?

Nike's aim for the reshaped team was a Technology team with sharper alignment with the business and greater speed and focus. Chief Executive Elliott Hill's leadership changes in December included bringing on Alagirisamy to better connect and integrate technology into business operations, changes meant to speed up Win Now. On the March earnings call, Hill said he expected the Win Now actions to conclude by the end of 2026.

Third quarter revenue was $11.3 billion, flat on a reported basis and down 3 percent on a currency-neutral basis, for the quarter ended February 28, 2026. NIKE Direct revenue fell, with a 9 percent decrease in NIKE Brand Digital and a 5 percent decrease in NIKE-owned stores. Revenue for Converse was $264 million, down 35 percent. Converse had already announced its own job cuts weeks after the January round, although the number of people affected was not disclosed at the time. With its March results, Nike warned that sales would keep falling for the rest of that year, primarily led by an anticipated 20% decline in China in the quarter then under way.

Morningstar analyst David Swartz told Reuters that earlier leadership had responded to the company's struggles by enlarging its workforce, technology teams in particular. That is his view, not a reason Nike gave.

Is This Nike's First Round of Layoffs This Year?

No. In January, Nike announced 775 job cuts, primarily at U.S. distribution centers, mostly in Tennessee and Mississippi, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, as Nike worked to accelerate its use of automation. Those cuts came on top of 1,000 corporate job cuts from a summer 2025 reduction.

The pattern matters for anyone weighing a move into Nike or staying put. Nike announced cuts in January and April, and in April Alagirisamy wrote that some of the Global Operations work was happening then and that more would continue over time.

Nike's cuts followed a layoff wave that included some companies targeting technology workers specifically. In February, Home Depot cut 800 jobs largely concentrated in its technology organization.

What Is the Nike India Technology Center, and Is It Hiring?

The Nike India Technology Center is one of the two strategically important hubs Nike named for its technology work in April.

On Nike's current careers page, a Lead Information Security Engineer role at the India Technology Center is a full-time Information Technology role at Embassy GolfLinks in Karnataka. It asks for the following, among other skills.

• Experience. Expert knowledge of network security and information security standards, principles and practices, with minimum 10+ years of experience, including time as a technical lead guiding the team day to day with a security first mindset.
• Network types. Expert knowledge of securing various network types including managed data centers and cloud-based networks.
• Architecture and risk. Proficient at the techniques that go into the implementation of solution architectures, including requirements discovery and troubleshoot complex network problems, application of abstraction, formulation of solution context, solution alternatives identification and assessment, technology selection, and implementation, and the ability to assess risk and translate it to business relevant considerations and facts and able to guide the team with technical expertise.
• Hands-on skills. Firewalls and Network, Network Devices, VPN, WAF, plus good work experience in cloud native environments.
• Certifications. CCNA, CCNP and CISM are strongly preferred, and any firewall certification is ideal.

If you are selected for a corporate role, a recruiter will reach out to start your interview process and be your main contact throughout the process. That is one listing, and it gives no hiring total for the center.

What Has Happened at Nike Since April?

On October 1, Nike set out a wider program called Pace, which will result in fewer roles across Nike. Decisions about affected roles will begin in calendar year 2027 and beyond, and Nike does not yet know the number of roles or specific locations. Pace also sets up a new Nike campus in Bengaluru that will grow over the next several years.

As of May 31, 2026, Nike had severance and other employee costs of $243 million in accrued liabilities, and it paid substantially all of the remaining liability balance during the first quarter of fiscal 2027. About $0.3 billion of severance costs were recognized in fiscal 2026 in connection with the March 2026 plan, and Nike gives no split by round or by worker.

What Notice Should Laid-Off US Nike Workers Get?

Under the federal WARN Act, covered workers must receive a written notice 60 calendar days before the layoff or plant closing, with some exceptions. The Labor Department's WARN worker's guide sets out these tests and rights.

• Employer size. The law covers a business with 100 or more full-time workers, not counting workers with less than 6 months on the job and workers who work less than 20 hours a week, or one that employs 100 or more workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours a week, and that is a private for-profit business, private non-profit organization or quasi-public entity separately organized from the regular government.
• Plant closing. An employer shuts down a facility or operating unit within a single site of employment and lays off at least 50 full-time workers.
• Mass layoff. An employer lays off either between 50 and 499 full-time workers at a single site of employment and that number is 33% of the number of full-time workers there, or lays off 500 or more full-time workers at a single site of employment.
• Your job loss. You must be laid off for more than 6 months, have your regular hours of work reduced by more than half during each month of a 6-month period, or be terminated from your employment, though not if you voluntarily quit, retire, or are discharged for cause.
• Part-time and other sites. Notice is owed even if you are a part-time worker or you work at another site and will lose your job due to this layoff.
• Remedy. Without required notice, you may be able to seek damages for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days, depending on how many days' notice you actually received.

A WARN notice must include whether the layoff is permanent or temporary of 6 months or less, the date of layoff and the date of your separation, an explanation of bumping rights if they exist, and the name and contact information for a person in the company who can provide additional information. If a union represents you, your employer must give 60 days’ written notice to the union, and you may not receive an individual notice from your employer. It is your union’s decision how and when to give you notice.

These rules come from a general overview of the law that does not replace the advice of an attorney. Coverage depends partly on how many full-time workers lose their jobs at a single site of employment during any 30-day period, so ask HR in writing which site your role was counted under.

How Do Laid-Off Workers in Oregon File for Unemployment?

Nike's world headquarters is in Beaverton, and the cuts were set to include positions there, so affected staff there may need Oregon's claim process. Claims are filed through Frances Online, the fastest way to apply, or by phone at 1-877-345-3484, or, if you cannot use either, with Form 115 by fax or mail.

• Gather your work history. You need your complete work history for the past 18 months, including employer names, addresses, phone numbers and start and end dates.
• Find your employer number. Searching by your employer's FEIN or EIN, listed on a paystub or W-2, or its Business Identification Number is the most accurate method. A name search also works, but some employer names look similar.
• Watch the Saturday cutoff. You can save and come back, but you must submit the application by 11:59 p.m. on Saturdays or you will need to start over.
• Keep filing weekly. The initial claim is filed once in each benefit year, the 52-week period that begins the first week you file, and you must stay able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.

A mistake can delay your money by days or weeks, and a submitted claim cannot be changed, so check your Social Security Number and address twice. After you apply, a letter tells you if you are eligible and how much money you can get if you file your weekly claims and are otherwise eligible, and most applications are reviewed within one week. File weekly claims even if you are still waiting for approval of your initial claim. A claim week runs Sunday through Saturday, and you report any hours and earnings from that week.

Teammates whose roles are impacted will hear directly from their leaders and HR partners starting today, Alagirisamy wrote, according to the Nike note on its Global Operations changes.

What This Means for Nike Workers and Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

Our take is that this round tells you where Nike said it would put its technology work, as well as where it planned cuts. Two hubs are named, the Philip H. Knight Campus in Beaverton and the Nike India Technology Center, and automation is named as a tool. If your technology role sits outside those two hubs, ask HR how the consolidation affects it. In April, Alagirisamy wrote that he expected the simplifying and automation efforts to continue beyond Nike's Win Now action plan.

Lacey Kaelani, CEO of Metaintro, puts it this way: a layoff memo is also a map. Read which teams and cities it names, because that is where the next jobs at the same company are likely to sit.

Here is what we would do.

• Ask HR for the details in writing. Ask for your separation date, how your role was counted for notice, and what happens to unvested pay. A WARN notice must include the date of layoff and the date of your separation, whether it is permanent or temporary of 6 months or less, an explanation of bumping rights if they exist, and the name and contact information for a person in the company who can provide additional information.
• File for benefits early. In Oregon, follow the state's step-by-step Frances Online filing guide with your work history ready.
• Look inside Nike first. If your skills fit a hub, search Nike's open roles, such as this India Technology Center listing, where selected corporate candidates hear from a recruiter.
• Lead with skills, not the job title. Describe your security, cloud or supply chain systems work by its results, in numbers you can prove.
• Plan the search. Read How to Job Search With AI After a Layoff before you start applying.

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• Laid Off by Amazon? Some Former Workers Are Being Asked Back for AI and Cloud Roles
• Shopee's AI Pivot Just Cost Hundreds of Engineers Their Jobs Across Southeast Asia
• Home Depot Cuts Jobs Ending Remote Work
• Mass Layoff Warnings Hit Decade High
• When Layoffs Hit Your Company

People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs did Nike cut in April 2026?

A: Nike announced a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in Global Operations, with the majority in Technology, in a note to employees dated April 23, 2026.

Q: Which Nike teams were affected by the layoffs?

A: Most of the planned cuts were in technology, with changes also at Air Manufacturing Innovation facilities, Converse manufacturing and engineering, and the materials supply chain, with staff affected across North America, Asia and Europe.

Q: Is Nike planning more layoffs?

A: Nike says its Pace program, announced in October, will mean fewer roles across Nike. Under Pace, decisions about affected roles will begin in calendar year 2027 and beyond, and Nike says it does not yet know how many roles or which locations.

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