German sportswear behemoth Puma is set to eliminate 900 positions from its global corporate workforce by the close of 2026, as the company intensifies efforts to revitalise its business amidst a period of sharp sales declines.
The planned redundancies mark an expansion of a cost-cutting programme initiated in March, which has already seen 500 roles cut worldwide this year.
Under the leadership of new chief executive Arthur Hoeld, Puma is striving to reverse its fortunes.
The brand’s performance has been hampered by a shrinking market share and subdued consumer demand for its footwear and apparel.
The internal challenges are compounded by a sector-wide impact from US tariffs on imports, factors that collectively prompted Puma to issue a warning of an annual loss in July.
Shares in the company have lost over 50 per cent of their value so far in 2025.
The company said it had already reduced undesired wholesale business, excess inventory at retailers, and promotions in e-commerce and full-price stores, as well as starting to cut exposure to mass merchants in North America.
It also plans to clean up its distribution and carry out targeted marketing investments, it added.
It expects inventories to return to normalised levels by the end of 2026, after a 17.3 per cent increase to €2.12 billion (£1.86 billion) in the quarter.
The company reported a decline in sales of 10.4 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis to €1.96 billion in the third quarter, slightly below the €1.98 billion expected by analysts in a company-provided poll.
The company said it expects to return to growth from 2027.
