Adidas Will Help Employees Pay Off Student Loans

Adidas is rolling out a new program to help its employees pay off their student loans.

Full-time employees who work more than 30 hours a week are eligible for $100 a month (or $1,200 total per year) towards paying off student loan debt, via Adidas’ Student Loan Support Program. Full-time employees across corporate, retail and distribution centers can enroll after one year of employment.

Companies like Estée Lauder and Peloton previously rolled out similar programs.

“This is an exciting new program for our people who said that student loan support would significantly help them. Paying for education should not hold our teammates back so we are happy to support them with this benefit,” said Rupert Campbell, president of Adidas North America. “Our employees make Adidas a special place and we strive to give them the very best.”

According to Adidas, 80% of employees said student loan debt causes significant stress.

The news comes after President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to a debt ceiling deal last week. Under this deal, close to 43 million Americans with student loan debt are going to have to start making payments again in September.

According to a recent note from UBS analyst Jay Sole, consumers burdened with student loans will likely reduce spending on apparel and footwear. These discretionary categories have already been impacted by inflation and general economic uncertainty. Retail footwear prices rose for the 25th straight month in April, though at a decelerating rate.

Now, the influx of student loan payments could have a further negative impact on companies like Crocs, Nordstrom, Nike, Steve Madden and Under Armour.

“Inflation and the overall macro environment has caused U.S. consumers to defer many discretionary purchases over the past 18 months,” Sole wrote in a note to investors. “Apparel has proven to be the category consumers defer most often.”