Adidas Cuts Deep Into India Tech Team as Hundreds of Jobs Hang in the Balance

Adidas Confirms Job Cuts at Its India Technology Operation

Adidas has confirmed that it is cutting jobs within its technology organisation in India, turning what had initially circulated as reports into an official restructuring announcement. The German sportswear giant says it has made the “difficult decision” to reduce a number of roles as it works to align its operating model with changing business needs. The company has not publicly disclosed the exact number of employees affected.

The scale being reported, however, is much larger than the word “restructuring” might suggest. According to reports, around 350 or more employees could be affected out of roughly 700 people working at Adidas' India Tech Hub in Gurugram. That would put the potential impact somewhere around 45% to 50% of the hub's workforce. It is important to note that this estimate has not been confirmed by Adidas itself.

Software Engineers and Data Teams Among Those Affected

The reported cuts are particularly significant because they involve technology roles rather than only traditional corporate functions. Software engineers, data scientists and data engineers are among the employees reportedly affected, according to the report.

Employees were reportedly informed about the changes during a town hall meeting on September 15. Some affected workers received exit letters immediately, while others have reportedly been asked to stay through December to complete handovers and explore other opportunities within Adidas. Employees who do not find another internal role could reportedly have December 15 as their final working day. Details about individual severance arrangements have not been publicly confirmed.

For the people involved, the announcement is obviously much more than a business restructuring headline. Technology teams are often built around long-term projects, specialized knowledge and years of experience with a company's internal systems. When a large portion of such a team suddenly faces uncertainty, the impact can extend well beyond the number of positions listed on a spreadsheet.

Why Is Adidas Restructuring Its Technology Organisation?

Adidas says the changes are intended to simplify parts of the organisation, strengthen critical capabilities and position the company for long-term success as its business and technology environment changes. The company has also said it is committed to supporting affected employees with transition assistance.

That explanation is important because the company has not specifically described the cuts as an AI-driven layoff. There is a broader trend across the technology industry toward restructuring, automation and shifting investment toward newer technologies, but it would be premature to say that AI alone caused Adidas's India cuts. The company's public explanation points instead to a changing operating model and the need to reorganise its technology capabilities.

India Remains Important to Adidas

The layoffs also come against the backdrop of Adidas expanding its technology and business operations in India. Its Gurugram location houses the company's local marketing organisation as well as one of its Global Engineering Tech Hubs. Adidas also opened a Global Business Services centre in Chennai in 2024.

That makes the scale of the reported Gurugram cuts particularly notable. India has become an important base for multinational companies looking for engineering, data, digital and business-services talent. A company can continue investing in the country while simultaneously reducing particular teams or changing where specific technology functions are performed.

In other words, layoffs at one technology hub do not necessarily mean a company is abandoning India. They can instead reflect a change in how the company wants its global technology organisation to be structured.

Another Warning Sign for India's Tech Workforce?

The Adidas news arrives during a period when technology workers around the world have become increasingly familiar with words such as “restructuring,” “efficiency” and “automation.” Large technology organisations are under pressure to do more with fewer resources, while AI is changing how companies think about software development, data work and other digital functions.

But every round of layoffs has its own reasons, and Adidas has not said that AI is the direct cause of these particular job cuts. That distinction matters. For the affected employees, the immediate issue is not the broader AI debate — it is finding out what happens to their jobs, careers and livelihoods after the restructuring.

Adidas says it is grateful to the employees affected by the changes and will provide transition assistance. For those who helped build and maintain the company's technology operations, however, the announcement is likely to feel much more personal than the corporate language suggests.

The Bigger Picture

The Adidas case illustrates how dramatically the technology workforce is changing. Companies no longer necessarily expand technology teams simply because digital operations are growing. They are also reassessing which capabilities they need internally, where those teams should be located and how much work can be handled with newer tools and more streamlined processes.

For now, the exact size of Adidas's India layoffs remains unclear. The company has confirmed technology job cuts, but the reported figure of roughly half of the Gurugram hub's workforce remains an estimate rather than an official Adidas number. That distinction will become clearer as the restructuring progresses.

What is already clear is that hundreds of technology professionals could be facing a major career transition at one of India's prominent global-company tech hubs — another reminder that even established brands are rapidly reshaping the way their technology organisations work.