Nike has decided to let go of the Fuelband Team and is reportedly planning to give up the wearable-hardware market.

According to sources of CNET, the job cuts happened on April 17, Thursday, and affected about 70 people from the Fuelband team and around 200 people from the Digital Sport division. The Digital Sport team worked on areas exploring manufacturing operations, hardware engineering, industrial design, and software interface design. They are the team behind the FuelBand, Nike sportswatch, and other wearable sport equipment.

"As a fast-paced, global business we continually align resources with business priorities," Nike's spokesman Brian Strong said in an email to CNET. "As our Digital Sport priorities evolve, we expect to make changes within the team, and there will be a small number of layoffs. We do not comment on individual employment matters."

This fall, the sportswear company planned to release a newer version of the FuelBand but eventually postponed the project. However, it will not stop selling FuelBand SE. Experts said that the change from the wearable technology was done so that the company can focus on other areas of fitness and sports software, a decision that will benefit the business in the years to come. Nike has to let go of the wearable market since their products are not performing well and bigger names such as Google and Apple are preparing to launch their own wearable equipment.

As Nike makes their shift from the wearable equipment, newcomers in the field will enter the industry such as Apple's iWatch and other Android-running devices made by Google. However, Apple's investment in the industry could be an ace for Nike, as Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his interest for FuelBand's potential.

Analysts say that the partnership might be beneficial for both sides. Nike analyst from Stifel, Nicolaus, and Company, Jim Duffy told CNET,"Nike would be content to let Apple sell devices, as long as they would be supportive of the apps."