Adidas has cut roles in its India technology organisation as part of a restructuring, leaving some employees at its Gurugram technology hub with exit letters and others with until December 15 to complete handovers or seek internal positions, according to people familiar with the process and a company statement shared with NDTV Business.
Employees were informed about the changes during a town hall meeting on September 15. The German sportswear company confirmed the reduction in roles the following day but did not disclose the number of affected employees.
Adidas said the impact was less than 20 per cent of its India Technology organisation. The company described the restructuring as an effort to align its operating model with changing business requirements, simplify parts of the organisation and strengthen critical capabilities.
According to people familiar with the process, affected employees were divided into two groups. Some received exit letters on September 15. Others were asked to remain with the company until December 15, with their role understood to include completing handovers to colleagues at other technology hubs. Employees in this second group were also given time to look for another position within Adidas. Those who do not secure an internal role by December 15 have been told that it will be their last working day, the people said.
The exact severance package, notice pay and redeployment support could not be independently confirmed from the information available. Adidas said it was committed to supporting affected employees with care, respect and appropriate transition assistance during the restructuring.
In its statement, the company said the changes were intended to strengthen capabilities and position Adidas for long-term success in a rapidly changing business and technology environment. It also said India remained a strategically important market and that its Technology Hub continued to support the company’s growth, innovation and digital transformation ambitions.
The Gurugram office houses Adidas’s local marketing organisation as well as one of its Global Engineering Tech Hubs. The company has expanded its business and technology presence in India in recent years, including the opening of a Global Business Services centre in Chennai in 2024.
Adidas’s website showed nearly 650 people working across its Gurugram and Chennai hubs. The latest restructuring, however, appears focused on the technology organisation rather than the entire India operation. The company said it continued to invest in strategic capabilities and had several open roles across the organisation, encouraging affected employees to explore those opportunities.
The developments place the immediate focus on how Adidas will distribute work between its Indian technology hubs and other locations, and on whether affected Gurugram employees can move into the internal openings cited by the company. For employees asked to complete handovers, December 15 is the next confirmed deadline in the restructuring process.
