9 of the Biggest Layoffs to Hit Footwear and Retail in 2024

While job cuts dominated headlines in the years following the post-pandemic spending boom, 2024 seemingly saw a slowdown in the number of footwear and retail companies implementing cost-cutting layoffs.

Looking closer at the U.S. Department of Labor’s most recent jobs report in November, the overall economy created 227,000 jobs last month, while unemployment remained at 4.2 percent is in the same low range of the past seven months.

Even still, some companies were not as fortunate this year, having to resort to saving their bottom lines by cutting staff. As we look back on the year, here are the 9 biggest footwear and retail layoffs of 2024.

Canada Goose

In March, Canada Goose said it was cutting approximately 17 percent of its corporate workforce as the company advances its transformation program.

The move came after the Toronto-based outdoor brand said it conducted a “comprehensive review” of its organizational structure and roles needed to achieve strategic objectives. The company said that the cuts are anticipated to yield immediate cost savings, simplify organizational structure, accelerate decision making and increase efficiencies across its operating platform.

Converse

In May, Converse said it “is realigning some of our teams and optimizing the way we work in support of our biggest growth opportunities.” The company also said at the time that it “is continually taking steps to support our future growth.”

The job cuts are part of Nike’s previously announced layoffs amid a general plan to “streamline” the organization and save up to $2 billion in costs over the next three years, the company said in December 2023. At the time, Nike alluded to layoffs and said it could soon face employee severance costs as it rolled out the strategic plan.

Geox

In September, Geox confirmed that it was winding down its U.S. operations – including closing its New York City office and cutting staff.

Enrico Mistron, who joined Geox as chief executive officer in March, confirmed the news to FN in a statement. “We confirm the closure of the NYC office,” Mistron said at the time. “In fact, we are reviewing our business model in the USA, and we will give you visibility in a few months.”

In addition to his statement, a company representative added that Geox “continues to serve” its clients through its partners and digital channels.

According to the Italian footwear company’s half-year financial report, Geox had 122 employees in North America as well as 11 owned stores in the region as of June 30, 2024. It’s unclear how many of those associates have been affected by the closure. The company has declined to give further details.

H&M

In January, H&M Group said it was planning to shutter 28 stores and lay off nearly 590 workers in Spain.

Two of the country’s trade unions, Comisiones Obreras and Unión General de Trabajadores, first revealed the news to Reuters, noting that the company is downsizing for unspecified organizational, productivity and economic reasons.

The closures target more than one-fifth of H&M’s 133 stores in Spain, where it employed almost 4,000 workers in 2022, according to its latest annual report.

Macy’s

In January, Macy’s said it would lay off about 2,300 employees, accounting for 3.5 percent of the retailer’s total workforce.

Within this round of employee reductions, most are occurring at the corporate office, though Macy’s is also closing five of its department stores and two furniture galleries.

“The reduction impacted all functions across nameplates, with the majority being corporate Macy’s Inc. jobs,” a Macy’s spokesperson said at the time.

Nike

After months of speculation, Nike revealed in February that it would lay off 2 percent of its workforce.

The move comes after the athletic giant revealed in December 2023 that it was taking steps to “streamline” the organization and would look to save up to $2 billion in costs over the next three years.

At the time of the announcement, Nike had about 83,000 team members globally. The Swoosh employed about 12,000 team members at its Beaverton, Ore. headquarters at the time.

Reebok

Earlier this month, the company behind Reebok‘s operations is laying off employees in the brand’s footwear business as it reworks the licensing strategy for the brand.

Authentic confirmed to FN that SPARC group, the lifestyle brand operator that operates Reebok through a license with the parent company, has reorganized Reebok’s footwear business as it looks to transfer licenses to new partners and focus more deeply on apparel. Authentic did not confirm which specific footwear divisions were impacted by the cuts, but employees in merchandising, design, product management, talent acquisition and innovation shared on LinkedIn this week that their roles had been eliminated to to a restructuring at Reebok.

REI

REI chief executive officer Eric Artz notified employees in a Jan. 25 letter that the outdoor retailer would lay off 357 people across its organization, including 200 corporate employees at its Sumner, Wash. headquarters and 121 in its distribution centers.

In announcing the layoffs, Artz described an “increasingly challenging” state of REI’s business and the outdoor industry at large and said he expected these challenges to persist this year. He projected 2024 revenues to be down compared to 2023 at the time.

Walmart

In May, Walmart announced it was laying off hundreds of corporate employees and asking many of its remote workers to relocate back to central offices across the country.

In memo sent to employees, Walmart’s chief people officer Donna Morris said Walmart workers in smaller offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto will need to move to be closer to its larger hubs in Bentonville, Ark., Hoboken, N.J. and Northern California. Employees will still be able to work on a hybrid basis in these locations.

“In addition, some parts of our business have made changes that will result in a reduction of several hundred campus roles,” Morris wrote in the letter, which Walmart shared with FN in response to a request for comment. “While the overall numbers are small in percentage, we are focused on supporting each of our associates affected by these changes.”