Under Armour to cut 400 jobs

Under Armour said it will cut 3 percent of its global workforce, or about 400 jobs, as part of ongoing changes at the sports apparel company.

Expected to be finished by April, the layoffs are the final component of a 2018 restructuring plan that the company said will cost up to $220 million.

They follow a handful of changes aimed at making the company more efficient long-term, according to Chief Financial Officer David Bergman.

'This redesign will help simplify the organization for smarter, faster execution, capture additional cost efficiencies and shift resources to drive greater operating leverage as we move into 2019 and beyond,” Bergman said in a statement.

The overall goal is to reverse a lengthy slump.

In July, Under Armour announced that sales in its all-important home market had risen for the first time in a year, sending shares up the most in two months.

Under Armour has invested in getting product to market faster while cutting spending on endorsement deals and licensing agreements.

It also wrote down a large chunk of inventory and eliminated about 40 percent of its products to focus on its highest-selling lines, primarily in performance apparel.

As inventory overhead shrinks and new products and production come online, investors will get a clearer picture of whether the restructuring is working.