Target said Thursday it will eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions as it looks to save money and reinvent itself after nearly three years of falling sales.
The cuts — roughly 8 percent of Target’s 22,000 corporate staff — will primarily affect its US workforce, the company said.
Employees were told the company will outline the changes in detail next Tuesday and that corporate staff will work remotely next week as layoffs are finalized.
‘The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back,’ incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke said in a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal that will be sent to staff on Tuesday.
‘Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life.’
Fiddelke, a 20-year Target veteran who currently serves as chief operating officer, will take over as CEO in February. He succeeds Brian Cornell, who will remain executive chairman.
Target’s stock price has been on a roller coaster this year, losing more than 30 percent of its value since January.
The past six months have been kinder to the chain, with Wall Street giving the company a 2 percent boost — and investors have pushed the stock even higher after the layoff announcement.
Target is about to cut 1,000 jobs from its corporate workforce, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. It comes after three years of falling sales
But analysts say problems have been spilling out of Target’s Minneapolis headquarters and into the retailer’s approximately 2,000 US locations.
‘Cutting corporate jobs may help boost profit. However, the move alone does not solve all of Target’s ills,’ Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, told the Daily Mail.
‘Regardless of how the cost pie is cut, it also needs to be accompanied by a change of culture at Target.’
Saunders joined a chorus of retail experts calling for Brian Cornell to fully step away from the company after years of blistering headlines and social media firestorms.
First, the company faced backlash from conservatives after including trans-inclusive swimwear in its 2024 Pride collection. Some stores reported major boycotts and even bomb threats.
Then, Target walked back its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in a pitch to appease the Trump administration. The move angered liberal shoppers.
And, when once-loyal fans began turning away from the company, Target quietly raised some prices to stave off additional tariff costs.
Internally, the raised prices, store job cuts, and consumer anger worried staffers on the front line. Several turned to social media, worried that their jobs were on the line.
Longtime CEO Brian Cornell announced that he was stepping down at the start of 2026
Target’s stock price has been on a wild rollercoaster this year – but the announcement of job cuts sent the share prices higher after the bell (marked by the extended grey line)
Target’s in-store employees have worried about their job security as the company continues to shed shoppers
Despite the issues, Target is still raking in tons of profits. The company reported making more than $25billion in the last quarter.
But that was smaller than expected—and Target’s issues stand in stark contrast to those of some of its competitors.
Walmart and Costco have both been on multi-year-long tears, posting record sales and results that outperformed Wall Street expectations.
Target didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.
