Thread regarding Adidas layoffs

Correct, when a company considers your position redundant due to changes in direction or structure it is with-cause and allowed.

Even if you think your job is important, it is the leadership who gets to ultimately decide direction and need.

@10j+1jmjrsn6x FYI this termination will be for a reason (hence not without cause). That reason is corporate restructuring.

Source: I consulted a lawyer who told me without leverage there is nothing I can do.

As per the very informed opinions here a lawyer can make a difference and it does not hurt to find one who is not affiliated with the company.
As a fact whenever and employee is terminated without a reason this is a clear case of suing the company and you have 3 weeks to do it as per the German law. This is why is useful to already have a lawyer familiar with your situation.
Adidas is not here to pay you severance or play fair. There were numerous cases where no severance was paid not even the most basic one. Adidas is looking for the cheapest way out and is not your mother.
You do not need to take it personal, you are not a valued employee you are just a cost on the financial statement.
So this is business and as a responsible employee you should think about your own interest and keep a lawyer close.

Layoff is much needed shake off. Some people have been coasting at Adidas for years and didn’t develop any new skills besides increasing only tenure in the company or survived with the help of politics. Business is more competitive than ever. Companies have to be the same.

Verbatim;

If Adidas is laying off 500 people in Germany, there are definitely legal procedures they must follow, especially regarding mass layoffs (Massenentlassung). However, whether consulting a lawyer is necessary depends on the individual’s situation. Here’s the reality:

1. Legal Protections Are Strong – German labor laws and works councils (Betriebsrat) already negotiate severance packages and protect employees from unfair dismissal. In many cases, affected employees will receive a standardized severance (Abfindung) without needing legal action.

2. When a Lawyer Might Help

• If someone believes they were unfairly targeted for dismissal (e.g., discrimination or not following seniority rules).
• If they think they could negotiate a higher severance than the standard offer.
• If their contract includes special clauses that might entitle them to additional benefits.

3. When a Lawyer Is Likely a Waste of Money

• If the severance package follows the standard formula (usually 0.5–1 month’s salary per year of service).
• If the Sozialplan (social plan) and works council negotiations already ensure fair treatment.
• If an individual’s case isn’t particularly unique or strong.

Most people assume hiring a lawyer means they’ll get a bigger payout, but in mass layoffs, companies already follow strict legal guidelines. Unless someone has a clear reason to challenge their dismissal, a lawyer might just take a percentage of the severance for minimal additional benefit.

@yk+1jmjrsn6x Dear colleague, perhaps it’s best to comment on someone’s who we feel needs feedback when they seem to be throwing a virtual fit and accusing anyone who disagrees with them as being HR. While I understand the stress, I do not agree with the aggressive “take down the man and anyone not in my side” attitude. It’s toxic, pervasive, and unprofessional

Dear colleague - lets not comment on someone’s attitude. If you think consulting an expert on legal matters is a waste of money, then fine, I respect your opinion even though I may way beyond disagree. You need to understand that even whether there is a strong legal ground or not, and whether people have their rights to exercise is also something which you or me cannot confirm, it has to come from a legal expert. So if someone has a legal insurance and wants to use it for scenarios that have an impact not only on them but also their families, their expat status, their financial stability etc, then why the fuss and emphasis on whether its a waste of money or not. Remember, consulting a lawyer is not about suing someone or extracting money or dragging someone to court (it could be the byproduct though eventually) but rather to know your rights and see to what extent they can be exercised.

@t8+1jmjrsn6x Literally not what I said and you’re clearly not getting the point.

Also who said I worked for Nike US? They are also a global company, FYI who creates product out of Amsterdam, Singapore, HK, and Shanghai . Not to mention those sitting next to ftys. I was not in the U.S., fyi but won’t share more details without outing myself on this forum.

Also, I said you can pay a lawyer but it’s a waste of money to sue the company in this case, 99.9% of the people laid off will have no legal precedent. The company doesn’t owe you anything. A lawyer will read your paperwork and tell you it’s ok to sign and you’ll fork over $500 for their hour, most likely. I personally have done that and wish I still had the money. Do what you will with that information and don’t feel the need to get angry just because someone has a different opinion of you (which seems to have air air of taking down the company by the people).

As for looking for a new job, I said go ahead, but it’s not any different anywhere else in terms of layoffs and your job is highly sought after by many others. You are not a special star that you think you are, you’re a number on a balance sheet or org chart they are looking to clean up and this is how it operates everywhere. The number of high performers I know who have an incredible network and are looking for work for over a year is massive, so I, myself, am choosing to focus on gratitude for what I do have and my energy in what I can control. Also, I like my job so if I keep it, I’ll be thankful.

The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can focus on a better mindset versus projecting and spewing this toxic aggressive and enticed mindset all over this forum.

Honestly if you keep your job I think you need to check yourself if this is an industry they really fits for you, maybe better to go into something more stable like healthcare if this type of instability is going to make you this nasty. I can only imagine what attitude you’re bringing to work and how it’s impacting your team.

@s9+1jmjrsn6x
Thanks for your suggestions from a former us Nike employee:

1. It’s not worth it to find a layer for anything related to your job.
2. Better to stay with your current job safely because 40+ FW and fanng telents have been looks for jobs more than a year.

I am pretty sure your experience are valuable for current situation and employees in hzo. It’s a memorable courage of your speaking on behalf of plenty of others. We all hear you clearly lmao

@rw+1jmjrsn6x LOL LITERALLY NOT hR or even close. I’m in development.

Also, I’ve only posted once on this thread so there are plenty of others who feel the same way 🤷🏻‍♀️

@qc+1jmjrsn6x
You are the same person posting here over and over again. You are HR, close to them or to one of the program managers doing this reorg.
There are no open doors at adidas, and most will not think about returning, ever at adidas, once they are out.
In any case, I encourage everyone to talk to their lawyers and get any proofs you may have ready for bargaining.

LOL I’m not HR, I’m someone who was laid off from Nike US and now work for adi Herzo, and not in a position to influence this decision in any way. I’m just being smart, and not entitled about it.

Having myself hired a lawyer in the past for my similar situation, I learned very quickly that a lawyer can only help you if you have leverage, and are able to prove you’re being pushed out for some reason or another. In cases of mass layoffs that can be nearly impossible to prove unless you’ve already been building a case for some time.

Otherwise you’re wasting your money and burning a bridge with a people whom could impact your future ability to be employed or provide a reference.

To my knowledge, no where in the world is There any law that says having a job at a company means you get to keep said job forever no matter what. While I wish labor protections were in our favor, try to understand Germany and EU already has it better than the rest.

In the US, when you get laid off, you get no notice and only in rare cases of cash-rich companies do you get 2 weeks for every year served if you’re lucky. Also, once laid off, you have to pay for your own healthcare which can cost well over 1200/month for a family if not more. There are virtually no state or federal protections and unemployment is about 30% of your salary, taxed and only goes for a maximum of 26 weeks. I can count at least 40 people I know who were seen as top talent from both footwear and FAANG who are looking for a job for over a year now.

I’ve also seen plenty of people be laid off and rehired places and since this seems to be a cyclical nature and not at all personal. Go ahead and hire a lawyer if it makes you feel tough. I’d personally prefer to save my money and keep the door open as no amount gained is worth the ability to get a new job - especially in this job market.

I love it how Hr from the company writes here a lawyer cannot help you.
A lawyer can help you a lot...from negotiating a better leaving package to even getting your job back. There are many cases of people who got their job back bit of course the company does not want you to know that...
So if you do not have legal insurance get one cause it takes 3 to 6 months to have costs covered and in no way trust the work council who is paid by the company. The dinosaurs there are only interested in getting to pension.
Be prepared and wait for the worse. If is bot happening even better.

@ ps+1jmjrsn6x plenty of people with competitive skills and network were laid off from those brands and are still in the market, explain this then?

Have you actually spoken to anyone who’s been laid off in the last year? Do you have any awareness of the job market current state?

@pg+1jmjrsn6x you cannot express success with luck. People with competitive skills and good network have left. It is that simple.

@nz+1jmjrsn6x In this job market it’s often luck, timing. Experience, And having a specific set of desired skills for the role. Honestly there hasn’t been a ton of job movement from what I’ve seen in the last year. Sure, a couple people here and there have landed new roles but nothing like what we were seeing in 2021 or prior.

Also, no company is immune to layoffs and if wanting to stay in this industry there are only a handful of companies who rarely do so- adidas is included in that list. I’m curious why anyone feels the need to hire a lawyer, and what illegal is going on. Everywhere else in the world companies will just dump you with little to no laws around severance or cause

@m9+1jmjrsn6x Then how others who easily change jobs do it? What is the difference between who change jobs that easily and those who are afraid of losing jobs they aren't valued?

@d9+1jmjrsn6x These company’s are hiring but thousands at Nike, Reebok, Saucony, Vans, North face, etc were laid off in the last year and are looking. Don’t be so naive to think anyone is special or adi experience is considered in demand when the market is this saturated for hungry people desperate for work

Honestly - Why would anyone want to stay at a company you feel you need a lawyer to be at. What kind of work environment would that create for you after? If these thoughts were in my head I’d honestly be looking elsewhere. A jobs a job… and there are places who respect you better.

ON is hiring, sportiva, so many other brands to choose from.

Tech is very scattered and it has many layers, you have from digital operations for eCom, and now Omni channel too. Even the people who look at the equipment in the campus or do services for the company (C event, apps, program managers). It impacts all of that.

On top of that we have also data and analytics too.

I don’t know how many people in total we are in tech in Herzo but other departments like global sales expect 65% of cuts. Also yesterday they did mention Transf4rm as an example of a project that needs to be reduced because it’s almost delivered.

It was already pointed out that we know some areas of tech have an equivalent of positions in other hubs working also with remote teams (think SREs, architects, devs, delivery leads, etc). So of course you cannot justify laying them off like that so it is smart for them to wait and see who takes the VLO which can be very profitable for mid management with more than 10 years in the company or people who already wanted to leave the org anyway or people who want to go back to their home countries as they will get relocation help or money.

Then you really see who’s left and rely on the social plan to lay off.

If you think you want to wait and fight it in the court, the easiest would be to join the union our industry belongs to and they will provide you with a lawyer to help you, not for nothing the works council always invited employees to join, for this cases it makes sense.

It’s now a waiting time for everyone.

When confronted the CFO said we made good numbers despite having the wrong operation model and so what we need can still cut positions, implying that what we do matters little.
It's hilarious how these C-Level execs don't understand (or pretend not to) their business cycles. In sporting goods industry there is cyclical trend and one or more brands make it big just coz their designs are trending. And they try to explain away these things by rapidly hiring one year and rapidly firing the other... They don't want to accept that despite having the best products they need that POS system to make reliable sales and at scale. I mean a 1000 ppl tech organization for a 60000 people company is not that big!

Let’s not forget that during the session the CIO and others on stage said MULTIPLE TIMES that they know the teams / areas and roles affected BUT THEY WONT TELL. All in the name of Transparency, right? It feels that someone is getting off on targeting the tech org specifically and making them more frustrated.

Well, if I foresee an upcoming problem and need to seek advice, I’d rather consult, seek help, get to know my rights and then decide the course of future than giving up based on one-liner assumption that “a lawyer can’t help me”. Regarding money, better to try and lose some bucks instead of losing a job without even trying.
And hey, ever heard of legal insurance in Germany?

There is zero here a lawyer can help you with outside of taking your money. What legal cause do you have? None.