TIME TO GO

Adidas HR Head Retires Amid Employee Calls for Racism Investigation

Employees had called on the company to investigate Parkin's handling of workplace racial issues in early June.

Adidas Human Resources global head Karen Parkin will retire from the company, stating in an internal staff memo that was time to “pave the way for change.” Parkin wrote in the memo that she stood against racism, but that she recognized “that the focus on me has become a hindrance inhibiting the company from moving forward.” Earlier this month, Adidas employees had called for an investigation into Parkin’s approach to addressing workplace racial issues, which the company had rejected. Parkin had called racism uniquely American “noise” at an all-employee event in Boston last year, stating that she did not believe the brand had any issues with racism. Parkin apologized for the statement on June 12, saying that she “should have chosen a better word” at the meeting.