Under Armour announces layoffs: restructuring to cost up to $90 million

Shares of Under Amrour Inc (NYSE: UAA) are in focus today after the sportswear company announced a broad restructuring plan. 

How many employees will Under Armour let go?

The $2.90 billion firm based out of Baltimore, Maryland confirmed that it will cut jobs as part of the announced restructuring. 

But it did not specify exactly how many employees will be affected by the lay off. Kevin Plank – the founder and chief executive of Under Armour said in a press release today:

Over the next 18 months, there is a significant opportunity to reconstitute UAA brand strength through achieving more, by doing less and focusing on our core fundamentals.

The news arrives about a couple months after Plank took over the helm again from Stephanie Linnartz. Under Armour is currently down about 25% versus its year-to-date high. 

$UAA expects continued weakness in North America

Under Armour expects the restructuring to cost it between $70 million and $90 million. 

The New York listed firm plans on slamming the breaks on promotions and discounting as well in a bid to lift its gross margin by up to 1.0% in its fiscal 2025. 

Also today, $UAA reported a 10% hit to its North American sales for the fourth quarter. More importantly, the footwear and apparel retailer warned the trend will only get worse moving forward. 

Last week, analysts at Citi reiterated their “neutral” rating on Under Armour stock but trimmed their price objective to $7.0 which hardly suggests any upside from here.