Adidas Lays Off Staff at Gurgaon Tech Hub, Calling India Role Cuts a 'Difficult Decision'

Adidas has begun laying off staff at its India Tech Hub in Gurgaon, with nearly 350 employees expected to lose their roles in a move the German sportswear giant calls a 'difficult decision'.

The cuts, announced at a town hall on Tuesday, September 15, mark one of the sharper contractions in India's tech sector this year and put the spotlight on how global brands are reshaping their technology operations amid shifting priorities.

The Scale of Adidas Layoffs in Gurgaon

The workforce reduction is set to affect close to half of the hub's 700-strong team, people familiar with the matter told local reporters. Those impacted include software engineers, data scientists and data engineers hired to build and support Adidas products since the office opened in 2021.

Employees were split into two groups. One set received exit letters on the day of the announcement. The other will remain until December 15 to hand over responsibilities, a detail that suggests the company is trying to avoid disruption while still moving quickly.

Adidas confirmed the layoffs in a statement but did not give a headcount. It described the move as part of efforts to 'align our operating model with the evolving needs of the business' and said the changes were meant to 'simplify parts of our organization, strengthen critical capabilities, and position adidas for long-term success in a rapidly evolving business and technology environment.'

The company added: 'We are deeply grateful to our colleagues for their many contributions to adidas. We are committed to supporting affected employees with care, respect, and appropriate transition assistance during this time.'

It also stressed that 'India remains a strategically important market for adidas, and our Technology Hub continues to play a critical role.'

Nothing is confirmed yet so everything should be taken with a grain of salt on the exact number of roles cut, but multiple reports converge on the 300 to 350 range.

Context and What Comes Next for Adidas India Tech Hub

To recall, the Gurgaon hub was launched five years ago to attract top tech and engineering talent to work on Adidas products, a push that mirrored similar moves by global firms into India's talent pool.

The latest cuts come as the wider tech labour market shows mixed signals: global tech layoffs have already surpassed 2025 levels, even as some companies continue to hire for AI, data and platform roles.

For workers on the ground, the timing feels especially raw. Just days earlier, a separate story circulated about a Gurugram man who lost his MNC job and hid it from his parents, a reminder of how personal these corporate decisions become.

Adidas did not specify whether the cuts are tied to specific projects or a broader reorganisation of its global technology function. The statement's emphasis on 'simplifying' and 'strengthening critical capabilities' points to a pruning exercise rather than a full exit, but the human cost is clear enough.

What happens next for those let go will depend on transition support and the local job market. For Adidas, the test is whether it can streamline without losing the institutional knowledge that made the hub worthwhile in the first place. Wild, given how fast things move in tech, but that's the calculus.