India, March 13 -- Puma announced on Wednesday that it will be cutting 500 jobs worldwide as well as close some unprofitable stores due to uncertain US consumer demand.

This comes right after the German sportswear maker posted disappointing quarterly and annual forecasts a day before, resulting in its shares slumping 23%, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

The company's CEO Arne Freundt had said that Puma's target consumers in the US were not spending due to economic uncertainty.

The grim outlook came after weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced in January, which caused concerns regarding Puma's ability to compete with bigger rivals like Adidas and Nike, along with new and fast-growing brands like On Running and Ho...