Target informed staff of its first major corporate layoff in a decade as the retailer tries to improve growth after four consecutive years of sluggish sales.
As per The Wall Street Journal, the cuts affect approximately 1,800 positions, including 1,000 layoffs and 800 open roles. The move will reduce Target’s 22,000-person global corporate staff by around 8%, with 80% of the cuts impacting U.S. employees. Target is majorly reducing corporate employees based at its headquarters; the layoffs do not affect store or supply chain workers.
Target’s incoming CEO, Michael Fiddelke. Photo by Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images
Affected employees will be infomred on Tuesday and will continue to receive pay and benefits until January 3, as well as severance packages, the Wall Street Journal reported. Target is asking all employees at its U.S. headquarters to work from home next week.
Target’s incoming CEO, Michael Fiddelke, who will take over the role in February and currently is Chief Operating Officer, told staff about the layoffs in a memo viewed by CNBC.
Fiddelke, a 20-year Target veteran who will take over longtime CEO Brian Cornell, stated in the memo that the decision to conduct layoffs was driven by the need to simplify “layers” of “complexity” to speed up decision-making.
“The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back,” Fiddelke said in the memo. “Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life.”
The layoffs are “a necessary step in building the future of Target,” Fiddelke wrote.
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