Thread regarding Adidas layoffs

Amazing how HR leader in talent can tell her team “off the record” that there will be no HR redundancies……before the actual announcement.

It is a known fact that HR people and public comms teams "mediate" this site.

I recommend you focus on your job cause this reorg - how you announced this was a total disaster. What was the logic to announce you will fire people but you have no idea how ? Classic example of plain stupidity and management by fear. Way to motivate the workforce!

Is like you never heard about motivational theory, psychological safety / role safety or change management. But is great you have DEI cause for sure people now feel more included.

Hi! Anyone knowing what is the amount of employees that were informed to be “safe”.
I would like to know how many are “in scope” as of now.

Out of sight - out of mind. In 15 years with adidas, the company built a track record of very mediocre handled layoffs, restructurings and leaves (eg because of burn-outs). Very few empathic people in the HR organization… so what do we have to expect?

I am wondering if this was the reason ex chief of Global Sales decided to leave as the person might not have agreed with the severe cuts. And Looks like most cuts are in global sales.

I feel so bad in general for all who did their work with passion. Last year teams gave their hearts out to bring our sales over the line. Everyone came back after New Years expecting someone would say “Well Done” instead of the tough news. But as they say “its corporate thats how it is”

I hope we all just try to be there for each other. There are people whose Visa depends on the job, Families, People who are in process to move to Germany and so on. Hope we show more empathy around the campus especially in next few months. Moral might be down.

Hoping best for each one of us.

@ex+1jj793snp exactly what happened to Runtastic - first round of layoffs in spring 2023, and then complete closure of the Austrian offices in September 2024 with a full layoff. The app was outsourced to save money, but it probably won't survive the transition.

So every other company in this industry has had massive layoffs, adidas Europe is almost never touched. Seems like it was time to shake things up regardlsss

Layoffs are always very bad news, people who post here should still stay respectful and truthful though, if it was a bad company why are you still there in the first place? Leaders do what they can to be humane despite the decisions taken

A bit of history on the leave package. It was apparently tested out in this new Digital area for Ams and Hzo. Theres some rules in Dutchland about a VLP so it wasn't great.
Germany has better VLP laws which means it will be a better offer than socialplan.
If works council does their job it should be minimum 12 months payment plus years of service plus bonus in 2026 for time worked in 2025.
But Faul Feline was all too happy to jump on stage and seem like besties with the board and make himself so visible. Don't trust him to fight for you.
If you can do the VLP, take it. No certainty with the social plan especially if you're new, young, or don't have a family. Have to protect those old german people who don't bring anything to the company.

I feel very bad for the people who have come here depending on Adidas.
Many people have bought property s thinking it’s a retirement company.
For such people it’s a trauma altogether

Outsourcing stuff is a big mistake, I see consequences of it, sometimes I pinch myself and can't believe it's a big stock trading company with the state of some processes in Tech

waiting for the offer, if any good i am out! Tech in my opinion is being moved to India and if not now then later you will hit the retrenchment. Nearsighted as most companies imho

Looks like around 60% of the departments in herzo got the email yesterday stating that they are not going to be affected.. so which means the 500 layoff have to be from the 40% of the workforce.. so the impact will be felt very strong in few departments..anyone has any clue which department will be affected the most?

Legal insurance has usually a 3 to 6 months freeze period where you cannot use it. However finding a lawyer and paying for a one time consultation is worth it.
Do not count on work council. They are there so they do not get fired in the first place so they watch their own interest.
So do your homework - check if you can get a good package and sign the papers only after checking with a lawyer.
Goodluck!

@cz+1jj793snp i agree.

HO has big responsibilities in most of the issues adidas has today, yet first the danish and later BG didn't get rid of him. It means none of them really care about this brand, the company and its people. And if i may add everything they said (remember the THIS IS NOT A PRISON? or People first) is just a pile of BS.
Not mentioned the characters they had sitting as CHRO in the last 7 years.

As far the package is 5+ months, i'm out.

1. Well, in tech individual can take the voluntary package, BUT guess what.. it need to be approved! Well I cannot imagine who would be able to carry on if their voluntary leave application is rejected for any reason (position criticality, or too many people decided to take it).
2. Hiring freeze has been applied across HZO and stair stepping halted globally. Will the positions of voluntary leaving colleagues be replaced by employees in HZO identified for a forced layoff?
3. The board has mentioned 500 roles will be reduced in HZO, not 500 people. Are they aiming to reduce the workforce in HZO even more? What is the target? So much unclarities.

Leadership roles are nominal, Director onward. All clueless, communication bad too. Bring leadership qualities back in leadership

In Austria, you had 3 months paid leave, around 3 monthly salaries in severance and the social plan had a points system depending on things like age, seniority, family situation, education, heritage. I think everyone walked away with at least 6 months salary in total.

Not only the recently promoted and big bully CIO but what about the two SVP’s that got promoted in Jan? Will they lead by example and volunteer? The Spanish bull, FC, is the worst of them all. He hates DB, but is his bestie when getting promoted. Meanwhile, he’s the king of retaliation. If you’re in his org…take the package! The world outside is amazing!

@cy+1jj793snp good idea but, normally every legal insurance has a freeze period (6 months) - you subscribe it and you cannot use it for a an x amount of time/retroactively ask for support. Talk to the betriebsrat and the union.

This was known for some time and is not unexpected. That is what Worker’s Council and board want you to think.
The person behind this is, no matter how much they will deny it, HO. It is just that he pushed BG and Karen 2.0 to do the dirty job.
HO is the reason why KR was booted out, because of continuous cost cutting decisions, no investments and no innovation, and will be the reason for BM’s downfall. BM is just another reusable CEO at adidas.
HO must go! And take with him the franconian mentality IT VP clique.

Would you recommend getting a Legal insurance to further negotiate the packages?

It’s true that there’s so much complexity in some functions. In tech, you have directors with just none/one or two reports, and senior directors with less than 5 reports while you also have directors with 30+ reports and senior directors with 70+ reports. Doesn’t make much sense.

The way BG sold the story was very disappointing. “You told me that adidas was too complex so we’ll cut 500 jobs to make it less complex. You brought this on yourself”. That was the vibe I heard from some people

"Future of IT" again but poorly communicated?
Will the CIO also step down following the example?

I suggest you contact the work council. The factors depend on role, seniority in the company, immigrants/non-immigrants etc. we are talking about several tens of thousands of euros.

Guys any leads on the package size? What to expect based on experience / Austria?

@ay+1jj793snp doesn't matter how much you think you are "crucial" - everyone is replaceable. Take the money 💰 and start fresh in an healthier environment!

I feel very sorry for the colleagues affected by the layoff... as a former Runtastic employee (laid off mid September 2024) I know how it feels. My advice: if you are offered a severance package, take it and leave especially if you are in the tech/engineering area, there are many possibilities out there!

If the Social Plans and severance package is anywhere near as good as the Austrian Works Council negotiated for the team there, TAKE IT AND NEVER TURN BACK.

Can you volunteer if you're not in the scope? lol

So correct me if I'm wrong. We are given opportunity to volunteraly leave. If it turns out that our position was affected - great, we won somehow. If it turns out that it was not affected, then we leave and they will still remove that headcount even you left.
And people who gonna volunteer - what if the roles of these people are crucial? So now we will destroy a lot of good structure, but also do a "cleanup" on a bad one.

The way it was communicated without any clarity was utter nonsense and sent everyone in panic. The reason given for this change also doesn't make sense as it involves only the HQ employees.

In December as part of 2024 employee performance review something different happened atleast within the tech area. where in line managers, senior leaders along with HR got together in calibrating the performance of every individual and categorise them, I have not heard about this process in the past. May be this was the reason some people got promoted just 2 weeks ago and we are getting this news later. Looks like this has been brewing for a long time.

Do you know which teams ?

It's remarkable how the company instead of learning from previous mistake, keep fostering egocentrism and toxicity.
To these of you who are afraid of the future or considering to leave, I can guarantee there's a life outside. You'll be fine, and likely even happier.
You, like me, can keep loving the brand but you will never fall in love with the usual people in the campus.

Is it me or it feels like there was no way to communicate this whole situation WORSE than what leadership did. Huge disappointment!

Agreed, the promotion of usual faces across many teams at the end of last year beginning of this year when this was clearly underway with HR & Works Council was tactless

I'm thinking to take the offer...done with the mess

Heard in Tech it's voluntary leave first. Guess what...DB, the new CIO & the SVP's all got promoted at the start of this year....they'll never lead by example, will only take care of themselves...this company is soooo toxic

confirmed, lots of affected teams