HERZOGENAURACH, Germany (Reuters) -Puma will cut 500 jobs worldwide as part of its cost-reduction programme, its CFO said after the German sportswear group late on Tuesday issued disappointing forecasts for the first quarter and 2025 amid weak demand in the U.S. and China.

Puma's disappointing quarterly sales and annual profits announced in January and Tuesday's outlook have fuelled concerns about its ability to compete with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike.

Puma is also looking to fend off younger, fast-growing brands like On Running and Hoka as it strives to boost its brand and take a larger share of the $400 billion global sportswear market.

Around 150 jobs of the 500 will be cut at the Puma headquarters, CEO Arne Freundt said in a conference with journalists.

The company, which employs around 21,000 people worldwide, will also close selected unprofitable stores, Chief Financial Officer Markus Neubrand added.

A low single-digit percentage of businesses are affected, Freundt said.

Puma had launched a cost-cutting programme aiming to reach an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin of 8.5% by 2027, compared with 7.1% in 2024.

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, writing by Linda Pasquini, editing by Madeline Chambers and Thomas Seythal)