Nike Layoffs Continue Massive Downward Trend For Company

Nike is in crisis mode. 

The once-dominant sports apparel company is suddenly realizing that it no longer appeals to people the way that it once did. The days of Michael Jordan are long gone. 

Company stock is in complete free fall, down nearly 25 percent over the past month, nearly 30 percent over the past 6 months and nearly 60 percent from its all-time high in November 2021. 

That has caused the apparel giant to cut jobs at a massive rate. The Oregonian reported in December that the company quietly cut a lot of jobs in December of last year, from nearly all departments. 

With its stock tumbling, Nike recently laid off more than 700 employees and many of them had decades of experience in the sports apparel business.

(Getty Images)

In April, Nike not-so-quietly announced layoffs of more than 700 employees from the Oregon-based headquarters. 

The Oregonian acquired data on those layoffs, and it showed that the company got rid of many high-ranking executives, including more than 30 vice presidents and more than 110 senior directors. 

Once again, these job cuts comprised many different departments, meaning it's not that Nike simply cut from an under-performing area. That makes sense, though, since the entire company is under performing, badly. 

Nike lost its way and is showing no signs of seeing the light. 

The question, of course, is why? There are plenty of different theories about that. Nike has dived headfirst into hardcore left-wing politics. The company partnered with Colin Kaepernick, an open hater of the United States. 

Nike is all-in on opposing "climate change," supporting the "LGBTQ community," fighting "racism," and promoting "women." Well, except when it comes to biological males competing in women's sports. On that issue, Nike is silent. 

Basically, if the left-wing radicals are in on an issue, Nike is right in lockstep. 

With more and more people choosing brands that align with their values, it's not a major leap to think that alienating at least half of the American population is a poor business decision.  

Nike proudly partnered with race-hustler and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. 

(Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Then there's an even more simple explanation: competition. Nike always got by on the fact that it was a known brand and charged high prices for, mostly, cheaply-made Chinese clothing and shoes. 

Again, the company that is all-in on explaining why the United States is a horrible country has no issue exploiting the Chinese labor force, as long as it leads to cheaper production costs. Funny how that works, isn't it? 

But more and more companies are entering the sports apparel space and are either producing better goods or cheaper ones. Nike continues to spend more time worrying about marketing and less time thinking about its products. 

It's not working. Personally, I don't buy any Nike products. I generally disagree with its politics, of course, but I was never a big Nike fan. I always found its clothing and shoes to be overpriced, poorly constructed, and uncomfortable. 

It seems like other people are coming around to that. 

There was a time when Nike was considered so "cool" that young people had no choice but to don the "swoosh" for fear of being outcast by their peers, whether they liked the apparel or not. 

That's no longer the case, and it's the biggest reason for the nosedive the company is currently facing. 

The days of young people feeling they have to wear Nike or risk being considered "not cool" are long gone.

(Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)

Can Nike right the ship? That depends. If the company returns focus to actually making good products and stops pandering to the extreme left-wing in the United States, maybe.

Unfortunately, Nike is probably too far down the path to make any changes. And unlike other companies that have products that people need, Nike doesn't. Nike depends entirely on disposable income to turn a profit. 

People just don't want to spend their hard-earned money on crappy products with insincere messages about "everyone belonging" or whatever. 

Surely, the company hates the phrase "shut up and dribble." 

But it's probably time that Nike simply "shut up and make good, affordable apparel." 

(Editor's note: An incorrect percentage from an earlier version of the article has been corrected.)