Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

You stay because many businesses in the PDX area see you have been employed with Nike and they don't want to hire you. Why, you say? Because they assume if you get a chance to go back you will leave your new job high and dry to get back to "the Berm." (I have been told this by a couple hiring managers.) What they don't know is that Nike isn't in the habit of bringing back their laid off people that I've see.

Weren't layoffs obvious when Nike got rid of the Betsy Ross flag? Poor decisions like that can really add up. I live in Oregon and have friends at Nike. I hope everyone does well through the changes.

I’d break it down to 3 things:

1. Potential
2. $
3. Local job market

1. Before stepping behind the curtain, who hasn’t been inspired by Nike? You go in, not with rose colored glasses because you’ve been around the block once or twice before, wanting to be a part of something bigger here. On paper (maxims, social change, etc) - the potential is there. In practice, it’s a dark, dysfunctional place where you hope it gets better because of the things that brought you here in the first place but it’s a deeply broken place that you alone cant fix. That needs to come from the top and it needs to be authentic. All the usual tried and true leadership and management best practices are irrelevant here because they only work when there’s a genuine desire for change and everyone plays by the “rules”. Both are Fundamentally lacking here so the only way to really get ahead - or simply survive - is to play dirty...really dirty.

2. Pay, benefits, name cache, etc are pretty damn great, although, that’s starting to change and also not worth the mental toll working here takes on you

3. The alternatives in PDX arent as robust as in other larger job markets.

Someday there will be a complete, high visible reckoning driven by something huge. Nike has a knack for surviving scandal after scandal after scandal so I don’t foresee that reckoning anytime soon.

In the meantime, people have 1 of 2 choices:

• stay and figure out ways to get through one more day and make small changes where they can, which s—s, but it is what it is. Some people are better equipped to grey rock and compartmentalize than others.

• value your mental health, integrity, and talent and go elsewhere knowing you will likely need to make compromises wherever you go but likely not the ones that can break you down to your core like happens time and time again here.

@2ooz+15Z4eZOM

So true about the Nike kool-aid drinkers. I had a manager whose desk was literally covered in various Nike "awards" like he was a prize show dog. He was one of the first to go on my team when they had the last round of layoffs. Saw them call him to the conference room and walk him out the door a few minute slater. The sad part was he wasn't able to take it all with him and his trinkets sat on his desk for a good week before someone realized it wasn't great motivation for the rest of us, and boxed them up.

For those who are leaving (on your own accord, or not) you'll find out quickly that Nike has a pretty bad reputation as a workplace. I've actually asked interviewees who they seemed to know so much of the dirty laundry. I guess word spreads. What you say is true - Nike will get you in the door and you'll most likely find a similar position, making the same amount of money. It won't be as glamorous as Nike, but you'll soon realize it's worth it.

When making reference to someone you can use the short handle - for example @2nau works just like @2nau+15Z4eZOM

In this case 15Z4eZOM is the thread name and if you add the @ sign before it it'll turn into something like this @OP+15Z4eZOM

When you have @2nau+15Z4eZOM the first part is the ID of the reply, and the second part after the + sign is the thread ID

I hope this helps

This is @2nau+15Z4eZOM....sh–....I meant to write who not how. This ironic since I was commenting on spelling....LOL

@2qqx+15Z4eZOM No, you are NOT a millionaire! You wish you were, sure, how does not. Another fake VP in disguise? I am finding this too funny because, for whatever reason, none of you fake VPs can spell. Is that a "skill" one must have to become a Nike VP? Oh...wait....I almost forgot - you are NOT. Now go away.....please!

@2ukq+15Z4eZOM..LOL...love it. Here is me buying you a virtual drink...cheers...

There is life after Nike. The offices are not as posh. Your gym isn't as convenient to get to. You may have to make your own coffee or amble a few blocks to a Starbuck's. You probably have to dress a little nicer than jeans and this season's graphic tees.

I worked at Nike for about six years and have some great memories of the place. In the end, it is just a corporation with a lavish campus that makes cool products. Under that s-xy veneer, the employees are just numbers/lines on budget spreadsheets like anywhere else. Politics and ambition play out just like any other workplace but with a bit more flamboyance.

Workers that keep a level head and social contacts outside of the berm do alright when the layoffs and reorganizations happen. People that got hopelessly immersed in "The Nike Culture" have a more difficult transition. I do feel a bit sorry for them as their entire life (work, dating, marriage, kids care, social connections, recreation) all revolve around The Swoosh. They are the ones that feel horribly betrayed while losing their identity and social life once they are on the outside.

My advice to people that hate the company is to get out on your own terms if possible. I left for a smaller footwear company and my career flourished in a less image and personality driven environment. If you get laid off in the coming weeks, do not fret! Nike experience will create interest in your resume and recruiters will be calling you. Even if you don't have a "cool kid" job in product or marketing, their are opportunities out there at less s-xy concerns. At the end of the day, IT is IT, logistics is logistics, etc. and all companies are just trying to move units. Does it really matter to your mortgage, 401K, or family dinner table if those units are Air Jordans, machine parts, or bottles of kombucha?

Best of luck to all! Stay grounded and do not mourn too long.

@@2qqx+15Z4eZOM Ha Ha Ha Ha. I can't stop laughing. You are clearly the troll on the other thread. You can't even spell "millionaire" correctly. Keep it coming as I enjoy your response(s). We all need a giggle during this unfortunate time. We don't care about your supposed luck; we care about each other and how we will get through this together and with genuine support.

@2qqx+15Z4eZOM thanks for sharing. Yes, there are still too many people at Nike who should not be there. There is absolutely better companies out there for people and they will know that in time - once they make the decision to leave or get told to leave. Wishing everyone nothing but the best.

Hi there
I worked at Nike through 90’s and then decided to leave. Pls note I met some great people and I met some messed up people who shouldn’t be there in the first place. I remember when I was leaving the place people told me your are nuts crazy there is no life after Nike. Push forward 19 years and I became multimillioner and the same people who told me there is no life after Nike are still there living from pay check to pay check .

Some people are literally stuck there. I've talked to people (typically management level) who have little in the way of marketable skills other than how to navigate Nike's matrix. You can't really take that somewhere else, at least not at the same level/pay you had at Nike.

This just underscores that you cannot be complacent and expect Nike to provide you with a career.

@ygv+15Z4eZOM you are an absolutely bad person...using your f—ed up way of thinking , then hopefully you will be laid off too...good luck out there with that caring about others’ attitude.

Agreed... I have worked for Nike for about 40% of my life. A while.. Yes, the culture and company has changed, but so has the world. Nike was number 1 when I started out, but has since grown into the extreme powerhouse it is today, light years ahead of its competition with regards to innovation etc.

Yes, I have had my fair share of questionable managers, clearly more interested in the color of their next Porsche than in my commitment to the brand... but that is fine. There is a lot of internal competition. People are hungry to succeed. It is surely no different in other similarly sized industry-leading companies. On the flip side, I have also traveled the world (in the forward cabin), gained some sensational experiences and memories, and met many(!) truly incredible people along the way.

I will be truly saddened if this is the end...

Not everyone hates the place. A lot of people crying about their jobs and managers on this site hopefully will get the freedom they want in a couple of weeks.