A restructuring move at Nike's UK business has resulted in 65 redundancies, latest accounts show.
Revenues at the Doxford Park headquartered company also fell last year due to deliberate slowing down of operations - including its marketing activity.
Nike (UK) Limited - which acts as an agent in the selling of the global sportswear brand's products - reported revenue fell from £79.7m to £63.3m in the year to the end of May 2021.
Read more: go here for more North East business news
The company receives commission on the revenues it generates in the UK and Ireland for Nike's group of companies, and it also receives payment from the group for operating costs.
In a report filed at Companies House the firm explained that while strong demand for Nike products continued throughout the pandemic and created "high double-digit growth", it had made the decision to reduce operating costs while the market looked uncertain.
That meant more "streamlined and focused brand marketing activity" and fewer product launch events. As a result, the company reduced administrative and operating expenses by 30.1%.
Despite the revenue fall, operating profits remained steady, increasing from £19.5m to £20.09m during the year.
In last year's accounts, covering the year ended May 2020, Nike signalled it could shed as many as 80 jobs from its Sunderland base as part of a company-wide effort to build a "flatter, nimbler company" and shift resources to invest in its "high growth potential areas."
The new accounts covering 2021 say 65 employees have been affected by the redundancy process, 39 of whom had left before the end of the financial year, leading to redundancy costs of £5.2m
A statement within the most recent accounts on the redundancies said: "The assessment impact and subsequent aligned implementation of this global strategy has been a key priority for the directors during the financial year, the results of which led to a number of redundancies being made within the business.
"For all impacted employees, detailed considerations were made into any alternative and potentially suitable roles that would allow those employees to remain within the company or within the wider Nike business before any redundancies were formalised.
"For employees that unfortunately had to leave the company, full support was given throughout the process, both internally and via access to an external professional advisory company that supports individuals through such transitions and changes in their professional career."
In further restructuring Nike has relocated its London office to a new development at Kings Cross, and a decision was taken to liquidate Nike (UK) Limited and transfer all its trading activities, transferable assets and liabilities to another Nike group company.
The company also said it decided not to pay a dividend to its parent company, Nike International Holding B.V, owing to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
In a report accompanying the accounts it said: "Whilst the financial position of the company remains strong and distributable reserves more than sufficient, it was felt in yet another year of enhanced uncertainty due to the global Covid 19 pandemic, that it was prudent to defer the potential decision to pay any dividend until the following year, when a new assessment would be made and further appropriate consideration given."
