Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

Loyalty is a one way street at Nike leading to a dead end. I was laid off at Intel years ago and it was a better experience. No one was escorted out of the building. There was no one year penalty, many got new jobs right away. We were given a decent time before we had to leave. There were weeks of celebrations instead of secret meetings and back door exits. I still look back at my time there with pleasure. I can't say the same for Nike. Yes, I am bitter. I was treated like I was a cancer. Cut out and discarded. I'll never wear the swoosh again. I have an interview at Intel for a new, higher paying job. Some sort of strange karma at work here. Wish me luck.

4lbj - Well put

I was one of the first people in the waves of "eliminations", called to the office of KW with KH.

My manager didn't know what was happening to me 30 mins before it happened. I worked in Ops. NIKE made it sound like it was going to be resourcing from Global brands to get products to customers faster. My manager even assured me, before he left to go meet his manager. Whom the. Told him that his role was changing and I was being cut.

They offered me an EAP counselor and a taxi. They asked for my badge and laptop and wrote it on the Manila envelope (by the cleanup crew) who actually tried making small talk with me about my long commute to come to the office. I looked at her and said "well guess that isn't a problem now". Like how stupid and insensitive.

She walked me to my desk and I gave her my laptop and explained that I needed my photos and files from it, which she wrote on the Manila folder. I wasn't allowed to take anything else with me besides medications and my handbag. I was told everything would be boxes up and sent to me.

She then walked me to the door and that was that.

June 15th... I STILL HAVENT RECEIVED MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS. Wedding photos, my brother that passed away, electronics, my personal files that I had in my file drawer and all of the gifts I collected over the years.

It was very humiliating and hurtful. I love NIKE so much. What it meant to work there. The excitement it held, and the benefits. Not to mention having a great manager and working under Sprunk and his SLT.

I still want my life back.

However, as dead as I felt that day, I am still alive I am living off my severance and unemployment. Have insurance until 10/31.

Lots of interviews lined up.

It was good while it lasted and I will cherish the good times, before it turned to this and before I just became "headcount". Not being able to apply for a year of I wanted to come back is BS, and seeing the layoffs still happening, but then seeing similar roles posted on job boards - that's infuriating.

Hang in there everyone. It isn't your fault. Hold your head high when they walk you out. Don't let them see you cry.

@3zct I was also escorted out. Not sure why you are doubting that. It's standard practice.

I was a Nike employee in Brand from 2003 to about 2007. I left of my own accord because of the never ending politics and need to mingle and connect with other employees to further the advancement of you own departments growth. I had always thought that the company could have been half the size and twice as profitable if they cut all the flab. Soooooo many meetings, so many approvals needed to move on the simplest of programs. In the end I realized that to survive and prosper you needed to shed your morals, play the game and get ready to point the finger where needed. They were the people that advanced and survived. When Trevor Edwards really started to rise to power in 2005 ish is where the culture of "life balance" really changed. Like others have mentioned, a 50 hour week is now considered part-time. Incoming call at 11pm, you better take it, take a flight out to an install on July 4th, you betcha; "we need you in NY on Thanksgiving" - absolutely.

The biggest problem of all though, is employees, and I mean lifers, thinking that Nike IS their life. Nike first, Family second, is almost the 21st century mantra. People need to wake up, be happy that they have Nike on their resume and start working to live and not living to work. One ladder climbing Exec. once told a NA group "It doesn't matter if you miss your kids school event, they're too young to remember anyway". . . . . . . . . And there you have it.

@3zct - I was given the choice of leaving the building immediately and having my things shipped to me or returning to my desk with an escort. I was told I could not go back to my desk by myself. I decided to go back and was escorted. She had a large envelope for my laptop and other company property. She must have been doing this all morning because she was clearly upset. I hope she learns from this experience and avoids the same fate. Read the other posts on this site. This was a common experience. You want people to be respectful, try avoiding petty insults like "troll."

@2iim you are a troll - there was no escorting - you are trying to muddy the waters here, be respectful please.

kjw makes a good point. I understand the rationale behind the layoffs but it was done in such a brutal and cruel way. It was hard on both sides. I got the call in the afternoon. My manager looked like she had been crying all day. The HR rep looked exhausted and bleary-eyed. The poor miss who escorted me back to my desk was a mess. She almost lost it when I packed up my family photos. I felt like I was the one comforting everyone else. What a miserable way to end a career.

Dear Gratitude, thank you for swimming against the current here to share your experiences and positive memories. I hold precious memories too, among them you, your husband, your family and the colleagues that stood by you on that painful journey. Wishing you and your family peace and strength. Godspeed and Ke Akua Hoomaikai Oe'

Dear Gratitude- I know who you are, and it makes my heart happy to know that you felt the love and caring from your Nike family when times were tough. That's what has made this place special all these years, and something that those of us who are gone, or still here should never forget. Phil had a great quote back in the 90's about it's the team that's Nike, not being about any one individual that makes us great.

Thank you for sharing your journey.

I was in nike as well but mine just only 4 years and I was in somewhere in Asia. I always feel good everytime when I think about this company. However, sadly everything will not be fair to you even how hard you tried. The people who will be promoted in this place (at least where I came from) is not necessary to perform well. My ex-dotted line manager also got layoffs this round but someone who's doing nothing but takes other credit still there....

Nike is very cultish to be sure. The reason from what I have observed is that 99 percent get in through friends and relatives, as it is virtually impossible to "get in" to Nike unless you are not. On the outside, contract employee's have less respect for them, because they know they did not get in through their abilites or skills, but simply through nepotism.

Its a very moonie like atmosphere, with this guy related to that manager, or this woman, married to that big wig kind of thing. Most contract employee's are much more talented and experienced than Nike folks, so they just kind of tolerate them as a necessity. lol

Nike is a successful corporation, with execs who are not Johnny Appleseed. They are driven by the need to perform for the shareholders--mostly institutions, these days, who see only so far as the stock price. Nike cut FTEs with high costs; wage scale, PTO and related accruals, healthcare cost, all that rot. High costs often equate to older workers with longer service periods. That's our USA reality, today, and welcome to it. Nike has the same market and ownership forces as any other corporation, and thus is no better or worse than most USA based corp...thinking otherwise is a whimsy.

Soothing to fondly recall the good times and the good people. Hold fast to those memories, if you have some, because the world and the work place is increasingly competitive, especially for those folks 50+ YO, now looking for work...hiring age discrimination is common, and has been widely reported by WSJ, The Economist, Atlantic, NYT, and others.

If you are over 50 YO, and are not financially ready today, to live with materially less income, or perhaps be forced to "retire" altogether, well, you are rolling the dice with your future. When sufficiently stable, check out this sobering documentary on the US retirement crisis; just don't expect any happy endings.... http://brokeneggsfilm.com/

I was a contractor at Nike around 2001. It felt pretty cultish to be honest. I went to a super bowl party one time and the Nike employees rooted against the Carolina Panthers simply because Cam Newton was sponsored by Under Armour. You guys have always been clickish and higher and mightier than everyone else. Good luck.

Thank you for your post. The reality is that every ending hurts. The loss just experienced brings so many emotions, but it does not negate the great work an individual did or the wonderful experiences we had while there. So I too am choosing to focus forward remembering "....bitterness keeps you from flying...".

I hope that all new alumni get through this in time and go on to be their best selves. :)

I wish I could feel the same way. I stayed true to the swoosh even when I wasn't there for eight years. The cruel way they let me go after 15 years of highly successful business performance on my CFE. That hurt.