I have been with Nike for a bit longer than 2 years. If I recall correctly, the rolling layoffs started just 3 months after I arrived at Nike! Since then, I have lost so many senior colleagues including a 10-year veteran , 18-year veteran and some one with 8 years at Nike. A handful of them also resigned.... I am constantly worried for my job security and if I have a job tomorrow. I am breadwinner with a mortgage....I don't know how much I could keep it together
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@sd+1kcc2dyr7
Op here responding.... I want you to know your reply made a huge difference for me.... As if my dad or my mother is speaking.... Really appreciate it and will do everything I can to separate my identity from Nike. Thank you and God bless
OP, the sooner you divorce your personal identity from Nike and its brand the better. I've been with the company long enough to see two sabbaticals and closing in on my third one. In the early years, everything about me circled back to being a Nike employee one way or another. And we were proud about the freedom we had to take risks, fail quickly, recover and still crush the goals most years. All of this started changing around 2016 and really accelerated by 2018.
Then JD took the helm and destroyed just about any remnants left from what once was Nike's winning culture. When he gave us his Christmas present in the form of "savings" announcement to Wall Street, I felt exactly like you. The dread and stress had a real impact on my health, family and work.
I had to go through a complete personal transformation and divorce my identity from my employer. This meant managing my personal controllables and putting myself in a position to call the shots regardless of what happens with my employment. I am still part of the Nike team and do great work daily, but I don't lose sleep over deliverables, perceptions or rumors. I continuously apply and interview with other companies to a) find the next step up in my career development or b) have a backup if Nike pulls my number out of the game. Have a solid financial plan and emergency fund. Live bellow your income, not above it. I encourage you to do all of these things and your stress level will slowly dissipate, because you have options.
Good luck!
I have been dreading getting laid off across several jobs a several companies since 2007. It feels like since then there is always some new catastrophe threatening to cause job loss, or justify it. Our current political administration is he-l bent on ensuring that nightmare stays strong.
Same experience here as well. Got laid off, then landed a better job where I feel valued. I was very upset to be pushed out of Nike against my will when the layoff happened, but then I realized after a few months in the new company that I'm dealing with a LOT LESS nonsense and stress that I almost believed was standard operating procedure at Nike.
The only reason I come back to this board from time to time is to read about the gossip and trainwrecks which are still happening at Nike, and remind myself how lucky I am to be elsewhere!
@OP Nike doesn’t care about you or your family. They are lost and don’t know what they actually care about. The Kardashians?
Don’t trust your boss, co workers or Human Resources. It’s a nasty place to be and the VP’s are the protected problem. The same VP’s taking fun team building trips! Talk about stupidity in optics.
Blame the MBAs all you want, but this resource rotation is all MF CFO policy … the CEO doesn’t really matter in a CFO cash cow dairy farm scenario. You don’t need an Ivy League consultant to read the writing on the wall, as finance SLT has been directly dictating this “strategy” to us Ivy League consultants since at least 2018. These are systemic and terminal problems, well suited to sweat shop swooshes. Oregon labor law financially incentivizes this cyclical death spiral since it’s nearly impossible to divest bad hires without indiscriminate layoffs. Good luck! And remember, the consultants are only here to absolve leadership of accountability.
@ex (wishingitwasntthetruth) raise an important point about induced productivity. You do not need an MBA to recognize it. When leadership relies on pressure, urgency, or fear to drive results, it reflects a misunderstanding of effective leadership.
Over time, this mindset can foster conformity over candor, discourage healthy dissent, and prioritize control and visibility over trust and outcomes. When voices are managed rather than heard, culture inevitably erodes.
Sustainable performance comes from listening, accountability, and respect for the principles that built the organization in the first place. Without those, culture challenges tend to persist regardless of intent.
Let’s see what happens Thursday the 18th
Long timer here.
The layoffs started well before you got here. Intentional or not, that existential dread you have has the perceived net positive outcome of making you worried enough to work just a bit harder.
Of course discounting the reality that this creates a frenetic workforce too frightened to innovate. Or say no.
In MBA circles this is referred to as induced productivity… or some other such garbage jargon. It has the additional benefit of providing an opportune time to exit more experienced personnel. Those with higher healthcare costs. Those with gray hair. Those that don’t fit the archetype any more. In time, this too will include you.
Haven’t you noticed the relative low average employee age yet? Less experience is balanced with the moniker of fresh perspectives… at a lower salary. Whether or not the new employees deliver is irrelevant, for the leader that touted the cost savings already cashed the benefit in their end of year review.
The odds you will be employed by Nike while you still have a mortgage balance is effectively zero.
Do exactly what the execs do. Get yours while you can, with unrelenting self preservation with objectively no emotional attachment to the brand. Your family is your focus. Nike will replace and forget about you before your next mortgage payment is due.
I was laid off in June and landed a new job. Life is SO MUCH BETTER now. I am at a company that actually promotes people(within your role and to other roles), offers amazing benefits, supports work-life balance, and encourages all to grow their careers and stay within the company. No more interviewing for your own job, no more interviewing to get "promoted", no more constant threat of layoffs.
My advice: Get out of there. It is such a mindf***. That place is so toxic.
@OP I feel you... However, do not give anyone the power over you to feel like you have no other choice, or that there is nothing else out there. There are a lot of options out there, you just have to take the time to search for them when you feel the time is right for you.