Adidas Group Chairman Herbert Hainer e-mailed company employees Friday Oct. 24 to say that, due to the troubled economy, the company is imposing a hiring freeze, SEW confirmed. Hainer explained to employees that the global financial crisis was changing markets and consumer behavior and “hence poses an immediate threat to the prospects for our business.”
In addition, adidas is cutting external meetings, seminars and consultants, and aiming to pare travel expenses next year by 15%. Hainer also said that this year the company will do without year-end parties, which cost a total of about $6.3 million.
“We believe the current climate does not offer an occasion to party,” Hainer wrote in an e-mail. He did not mention layoffs, although he said adidas would “have to make structural adjustments here and there.” In a statement issued on the same day, Patrick Nilsson, president of adidas America in Portland, said, “Weve already taken a variety of steps to ensure we are well equipped to succeed in this business environment.”
