Nike layoffs hit its secret sneaker archive department

NIKE has cut some staff from its secret sneaker archives as part of a multiyear cost-cutting plan, according to people familiar with the matter.

The division, known as the Department of Nike Archives – or DNA, as it’s referred to internally – is a small team of employees who collect, catalogue and store more than 200,000 Nike shoes, gear and other artifacts from the brand’s history.

Located in a complex tucked inside Nike headquarters in Oregon, the archive was started in 2006 as a place to preserve and record Nike’s past. Closed to the public, access is typically reserved for designers, researchers and marketers to use for inspiration in product development and advertising.

Items housed within the secretive compound include Cortez running shoes developed by Nike cofounder bill Bowerman, the first Air Max sneakers and vintage apparel used in the Olympics.

The world’s largest sportswear company has embarked on a plan to slash US$2 billion in costs and is laying off about 2 per cent of its global workforce. In an internal memo sent to employees in February, chief executive officer John Donahoe said that Nike needs to “edit, shift and divest less critical work” as it reallocates resources.

A spokesperson for Nike declined to comment on the matter.

So far, the cuts have affected roughly 750 employees across departments at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Converse, a Nike subsidiary that operates out of Boston, was also impacted by the layoffs. Nike had two of its top archive employees depart in recent years when they retired after decades-long tenures. BLOOMBERG