American athletic footwear company Nike has announced plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs and open a new campus in India as it seeks to accelerate a turnaround after another downbeat quarter.
Nike unveiled the plan via a statement issued on Thursday, October 1, 2026, as it reported a modest decline in quarterly profits on lower sales.
The company projected sales in the current fiscal year would fall by “high-single digits,” according to an earnings statement.
“We’re building Nike for the long term,” Chief Executive Elliot Hill said during a conference call in which he touted the company’s burgeoning relationship with women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark.
The company reported a two per cent drop in quarterly profits to $712 million. Revenues fell four per cent to $11.2 billion for the quarter ending August 31, the first quarter of Nike’s fiscal 2027.
Other than North America, where revenues grew two per cent, Nike saw declines in every other region.
The sports giant suffered an especially big drop in Greater China, a badly slumping area. In that geography, revenues fell 22 percent to $1.2 billion.
Hill also cited the need for improvement in sportswear and the Jordan brand.
Hill rejoined Nike as CEO in October 2024 as the company sought a pivot due to problems that included an oversupply of too many items that sold poorly and an ill-conceived shift to direct sales that left the company underrepresented with key retailers.
Hill, in a message to employees, said the company has made progress since his return, but that deeper changes were needed following a comprehensive review.
Hill said Nike “must make changes to become a more agile, efficient and athlete-focused company.”
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These shifts “will result in fewer roles across Nike, and I want to acknowledge that news like this creates uncertainty,” added Hill, who promised “transparency” as the plans become clearer.
“Decisions about impacted roles related to this work will begin in calendar year 2027 and beyond,” the CEO stated.
He noted that Nike plans a new campus in Bengaluru, India, which will represent “a long-term investment in new capabilities and talent to strengthen how we serve athletes around the world, including in India.”
The managing director of GlobalData, Neil Saunders, said the latest results show “Nike’s brand heat continues to fade and it isn’t powerful enough to punch back against more nimble competitors.”
Saunders, who called the outlook “shabby,” noted that the company’s forecast for a further decline in revenues was particularly troubling.
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