Under Armour is closing its Portland office and moving most of the jobs to New York and its corporate office in Baltimore, the Baltimore Business Journal reported Tuesday. It’s another blow to the region’s footwear industry.
“This will help us move faster, collaborate more closely, and better align our teams around serving athletes and building the brand,” Under Armour said in a statement to the Business Journal, which reported the Portland office employed 60 people.
Under Armour said it will lease a “much smaller” Portland office in a new location by the end of 2026 but it hasn’t signed a lease yet. The company did not respond to a message late Tuesday seeking additional comment.
Under Armour opened its 70,000-square-foot Portland office in 2017 in a former YMCA next to Duniway Park south of downtown. The company was trying to expand beyond its core market in athletic apparel by developing footwear, tapping into a Portland ecosystem anchored by Nike and Adidas.
Footwear sales were down 10.8% last year, to about $1.1 billion, amid a broader decline in Under Armour’s business. Its stock has lost 70% of its value over the past five years, closing Tuesday at $5.66.
Under Armour told the Business Journal that it will eliminate a “handful of roles” when it closes the Portland office but will transfer most of the local employees to the East Coast.
Portland’s footwear industry has been struggling since the pandemic, with Nike’s sales and stock price falling and the company enduring waves of layoffs. Its troubles have contributed to a broader decline in the metro area’s labor market, which is down 2.4% since 2019 — a period when employment has been growing nationally.
