- Target is cutting about 1,800 corporate roles—8% of HQ staff—including ~1,000 layoffs and 800 closed positions.
- Frontline store and supply chain workers are spared as leadership trims layers to speed decisions and boost efficiency.
- Layoffs occur amid widespread U.S. retail cuts, sliding sales, and pressure to fund tech upgrades under incoming CEO Fiddelke.
In a move that’s rippling through the retail world, Target Corporation announced last week it’s eliminating about 1,800 corporate positions—roughly 8% of its global headquarters staff—as part of a sweeping restructuring aimed at cutting bureaucratic layers and speeding up decision-making.
The Target layoffs, which include around 1,000 cuts and the closure of 800 open roles, hit managers three times harder than other employees and mark the company’s biggest workforce shake-up in a decade.
Store and supply chain workers, the backbone of Target’s day-to-day operations, are untouched, a deliberate choice to shield frontline teams from the corporate scalpel.
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The news landed like a gut punch for those affected, who won’t learn their fates until Tuesday—after a tense, drawn-out weekend of uncertainty.
In an internal memo, incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke, who’s set to officially take the reins from Brian Cornell in February 2026, framed the decision as tough but essential.
“This wasn’t made lightly,” Fiddelke wrote, calling it “a necessary step in building the future of Target and enabling the progress and growth we all want to see.”
Employees let go will keep their pay and benefits through January 3, 2026, on top of severance packages and outplacement support, according to company spokespeople.
Troubling Data for U.S. Retailers
Target’s not alone in this grim ritual of corporate trimming. The announcement comes amid a brutal stretch for U.S. retailers, where job cuts have surged 274% in the first half of 2025 compared to the year before, totaling around 76,000 positions sector-wide.
Walmart, Best Buy, Starbucks, Saks Global, and Kroger have all pared back corporate headcounts in recent months, often citing the same culprits: sluggish consumer spending on non-essentials, fierce online competition from Amazon and Costco, and the need to pivot toward leaner, tech-driven models.
Nike, for instance, trimmed less than 1% of its U.S. staff earlier this year to refocus on innovation, while General Mills kicked off a multi-year reorganization that’s already axed an estimated 500 to 600 North American jobs.
Broader data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas paints an even starker picture: U.S. employers announced 946,426 job cuts through September 2025, a 55% jump from the same period last year and the fifth-highest total in 36 years of tracking.
Why is Target Laying off Employees?
For Target, these layoffs are the opening salvo in a broader turnaround playbook.
Fiddelke’s push stems from months of internal audits under the company’s Enterprise Acceleration Office, launched in May to boost efficiency, tech adoption, and nimbler operations.
The goal? Flatten hierarchies, eliminate overlapping duties, and free up resources to chase growth in a market that’s left the Minneapolis-based chain playing catch-up.
“Too many organizational layers and overlapping responsibilities have been holding us back,” Fiddelke noted in his memo, echoing frustrations voiced by workers on forums like TheLayoff.com, where one veteran employee lamented the “perpetual catch-up mode” dating back to similar cuts in 2015.
The timing feels especially raw coming off a punishing 2024 and a wobbly 2025.
Target’s sales have also dipped for three straight quarters, with foot traffic down and shoppers tightening belts on apparel and home goods—the very categories that once defined its upscale-discount vibe.
Its stock has cratered nearly 50% since April 2024, making it one of the S&P 500’s biggest laggards this year, while rivals like Walmart pull ahead.
Analysts point to a cocktail of factors: inflation-weary consumers favoring groceries over gadgets, backlash from a brief pullback on DEI initiatives that some say dented brand loyalty, and relentless pressure from e-commerce giants.
Even as third-quarter results this year beat lowered expectations, the per-visit spend is still shrinking, underscoring how Target’s “Tar-zhay” charm has lost some shine in an era of value hunting.
Experts and Wall Street Are Also Watching
Wall Street’s reaction has been muted but watchful.
Shares ticked up slightly post-announcement, with some investors betting the slimmed-down structure could juice margins and fund tech upgrades—like AI-driven inventory tools or faster app rollouts—that Target desperately needs to claw back market share.
“Reducing corporate overhead may improve margins, if executed cleanly,” one analyst noted, though others caution that botched restructurings can sap morale and stall innovation at exactly the wrong moment.
Fiddelke, a 20-year Target vet who rose through finance and operations, inherits this mess as his first big test. His predecessor, Cornell, steered the company through the pandemic boom but couldn’t fully capitalize on it amid shifting habits.
Zooming out, Target’s moves signal a sector in flux, where once-bloated HQs are shedding weight to survive.
Back in 2015, the retailer cut over 3,100 jobs in a similar bid for agility, including senior vice presidents and officers, as part of a $2 billion two-year overhaul.
History doesn’t always repeat neatly, but the parallels are hard to ignore: rising costs, tech lags, and a business model forever chasing efficiency.
As one anonymous poster on TheLayoff.com put it, “Is this our Kmart/Sears moment?”—a stark reminder of what happens when discounters dither.
What Happens Next?
For the workers caught in the crossfire of the Target layoffs, it’s personal.
Forums are buzzing with raw takes: one 20-year retail vet sharing layoff survival tips across levels, from individual contributors to directors; another mocking the polished LinkedIn spin on pink slips as “eternally grateful for this opportunity to realign my professional synergy.”
HR pros watching from afar see it as a wake-up call: In retail’s squeeze, balancing cost cuts with culture preservation isn’t optional—it’s survival.
Target’s betting big on this reset to reignite growth. Whether it sparks a comeback or just more headlines remains to be seen, but one thing’s clear: The holiday shopping sprint just got a lot more high-stakes.
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