Reebok International Ltd. is eliminating about 65 positions at its Canton, MA headquarters as part of a global reduction. In all, 150 jobs were reportedly eliminated as part of the global restructuring that included closing of its European office in Amsterdam and its Asia-Pacific office in Hong Kong.
The Boston Globe reported that some workers at regional offices will transfer to the Canton headquarters.
Overall, Reebok has 8,000 employees globally, including 1,000 in Canton. The loss of 150 jobs represents around 2 percent of its workforce.
In a statement, Matt O’Toole, Reebok’s chief marketing officer, “Earlier this year we announced the reorganization of the Reebok Brand team into six core Business Units (Training, Running, Walking, Studio, Classics, and Kids), designed to deliver against our ambition to become the leading fitness brand. Today, we continued this reorganization with the implementation of a new global-direct operating model between the global organization in Canton and our markets, and a streamlining our satellite creation activities. These changes, which will go into effect January, 2013, will increase our effectiveness, our speed to market and our efficiency.
Approximately 65 Reebok employees at our Canton, MA headquarters were unfortunately impacted by this restructure. While I am convinced Reebok will emerge a stronger organization and ultimately a more desirable brand for our fitness lifestyle consumer following today’s announcement, this is a difficult day for all of us. I want to publicly thank our employees for their years of service and dedication to the company.”
The changes come as Adidas earlier this year slashed its 2015 sales forecast for Reebok from about $3.9 billion to $2.6 billion. In September, the company eliminated the position of global president as part of a reorganization to improve its focus on fitness products, marked by its Cross-Fit partnership.
Reebok spokesman Dan Sarro told the Globe that the layoffs were not related to Reebok’s ending its licensing partnership with the NFL earlier this year or the ongoing NHL strike.
