Nike is laying off some employees in its technology division as the sportswear giant reshuffles priorities under chief executive officer Elliott Hill, who is working to revitalise the struggling company.

The job cuts affect staff in the strategic enterprise and corporate functions departments, which help manage business processes, according to people familiar with the matter. Nike confirmed the departure of technology workers but did not specify how many employees would be made redundant or the total size of its technology division.

A Nike representative told Reuters in an email that the company plans to shift some of the technology work to third-party vendors. The changes were announced to staff last week.

"Nike is shifting some of that work to third-party vendors," the representative confirmed, without providing additional details on the scale of the redundancies.

The restructuring comes as Hill, who came out of retirement in October to lead the business, makes significant changes to Nike's senior leadership team. He has appointed new leaders for several departments including strategy, human resources and sports marketing, though Muge Dogan, a former Amazon.com Inc executive, remains Nike's chief technology officer.

The company's technology division faced disruption in 2023 when its chief digital information officer departed abruptly amid bribery allegations, with a former employee filing a lawsuit in Oregon related to the accusations.

Nike has struggled to revive sales after previous management focused heavily on lifestyle products rather than athletic performance, alienating key retail partners. Hill's efforts to recapture growth by refocusing on sports and wholesale channels have been complicated by US President Donald Trump's trade policies and inconsistent consumer spending in the US.

In March, Nike reported a 9 per cent drop in third-quarter sales for fiscal 2025, with sales totalling £9.1bn, down from £10.1bn last year. On a currency-neutral basis, sales declined by 7 per cent. Nike shares have fallen 18 per cent so far this year, significantly underperforming compared to the S&P 500 Index's 1.4 per cent advance.

Earlier this year, Nike also announced a restructuring of its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, potentially affecting hundreds of jobs.

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