Adidas to axe up to 500 jobs at headquarters, source says

MUNICH (Reuters) - Adidas CEO Bjoern Gulden plans to cut up to 500 jobs at the German sport retailer's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, a source who took part in a meeting where the figure was announced told Reuters on Thursday.

The world's second-largest sportswear maker employs around 5,800 people in the Bavarian town.

Germany's Manager Magazin was first to report on the planned job cuts.

An Adidas spokeswoman decline to confirm the number but said the company structure was "too complex in a constantly changing world".

In recent years, Gulden has begun to decentralize the company and shift responsibility from headquarters to individual markets. He has repeatedly stressed that the company has to get back on a growth track before tackling personnel issues.

On Tuesday, Adidas presented better-than-expected preliminary figures for 2024, with an 11% increase in sales and an operating profit of 1.34 billion euros.

The following day, its smaller rival Puma announced a cost-cutting programme after its 2024 net profit missed expectations.

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Leon Kuegeler, Editing by Sabine Wohlrab and Rachel More)