Under Armour is laying off workers as it struggles with falling sales

Under Armour is laying off a chunk of its workforce as it braces for a predictable decline in sales from its North America market, it said in its latest quarterly earnings report.

Shares of Under Armour were largely unchanged during early trading hours.

Nonetheless, the athletic apparel company reported a dismal performance during its fourth quarter, in part due to a “challenging retail environment” which consisted of “high inventories and a drumbeat of promotions,” said Kevin Plank, Under Armour CEO, in a statement.

The Baltimore-based Under Armour said that as part of its broad restructuring plan it’s reducing its workforce. It did not, however, disclose how many jobs would be eliminated.

“Due to a confluence of factors, including lower wholesale channel demand and inconsistent execution across our business, we are seizing this critical moment to make proactive decisions to build a premium positioning for our brand, which will pressure our top and bottom line in the near term,” Plank said.

Under the board approved plan, the company expects between $70 million and $90 million in restructuring charges. Of those expenses, it plans to allocate between $7 million and $15 million for employees to help cover severance and benefits, it said.

That strategy is in part being implemented to deal with a decline in sales, particularly in North America, where sales fell by 10% during the fourth quarter. Notably, it’s fairing better in international markets, where sales rose 7% during the period.

“Over the next 18 months, there is a significant opportunity to reconstitute Under Armour’s brand strength through achieving more, by doing less and focusing on our core fundamentals,” Plank said, noting that that will include driving demand and focusing on cost management.

The sporting goods retailer predicts sales will further decline during the fiscal year. For its North America region, Under Armour said it is expecting sales to fall by 15% to 17%.

Under Armour met Wall Street’s revenue expectations. For the fourth quarter, it reported revenue of $1.33 billion, which was in line with what analysts had forecasted, according to FactSet.