Converse instructed its employees to work from home this week as the brand implements a reorganization designed to help recapture sales growth, according to a memo circulated internally. The note, attributed to Aaron Cain, Converses chief executive officer, outlined changes that include new roles and movement of staff between teams.
The memo comes against a backdrop of job reductions across Converses parent company, Nike. Earlier this year, Nike eliminated 775 positions that affected distribution center roles in Tennessee and Mississippi, a move described by a person familiar with the matter in late January as intended to improve profitability and speed adoption of automation. The company has also carried out several rounds of workforce cuts in recent years.
Converse itself had previously reduced headcount as part of Nikes cost-savings plans in May 2024. Nike moved to trim its corporate ranks in 2024 as part of a wider turnaround under Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill, who assumed the role in 2024. In August of last year the firm cut slightly less than 1% of its corporate workforce, and earlier in February 2024 it had announced a cut of about 2% of jobs - more than 1,600 positions in total.
The current reorganization at Converse is presented internally as a strategic effort to reposition the brand and accelerate a return to sales growth, though the memo provided limited operational detail beyond the staffing moves and role changes. The company is described in the memo as seeking to reestablish itself as a market leader after losing share to competitors.
Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Summary
Converse has asked employees to work remotely temporarily while it reorganizes teams and roles to try to reignite sales growth, following earlier layoffs at Nike and previous job cuts at Converse tied to parent-company cost savings.