Nike is reportedly laying off 775 employees in the US as the sportswear giant plans to speed up automation and improve its profitability.

The job cuts will mainly affect staff at the company’s distribution centers in Tennessee and Mississippi, Reuters reported.

In a statement provided to the news agency, Nike said it was taking steps to “strengthen and streamline operations” to “move faster, operate with greater discipline, and better serve customers”.

The latest round of layoffs follows the cuts of approximately 1000 corporate jobs announced last August. The layoffs at the time, which affected nearly 1 per cent of the company’s corporate workforce, was part of the turnaround strategies implemented by CEO Elliott Hill.

As of last May, Nike had 77,800 employees worldwide. It is unclear how many distribution jobs the company has in the US.

For the second quarter ended November 30, the sportswear brand reported a 1 per cent uplift in revenue to $12.4 billion. An analyst said the results showed signs of progress as the company was “mid-way through its recovery program”.

However, the company still struggled to boost its profitability, with net income for the period down 32 per cent to $800 million.

Nike also said on Monday it was investigating a potential data breach, after a group known for cyber attacks reportedly claimed to have leaked data related to its business operations.