Target layoffs will hit 1,700, with another 1,400 jobs going unfilled

MINNEAPOLIS -- Target Corp. said it was wiping out 3,100 headquarters jobs, including laying off 1,700 people, with most learning their fate Tuesday.

The company Tuesday morning elaborated for the first time on a plan announced last week to eliminate "several thousand" jobs, chiefly at its corporate offices in the Minneapolis area. In addition to the layoffs, Target said 1,400 open jobs will be closed and unfilled.

"Today is a very difficult day for the Target team, but we believe these are the right decisions for the company," the company said in a statement.

Throughout the morning, employees carrying boxes and personal belongings could be seen leaving the company's main tower.

The company said each employee who is cut will receive at least 15 weeks of pay plus additional severance amounts based on their length of time with the retailer. Target said benefits will continue for six months and employees will receive outplacement support and other services.

In a filing with securities regulators, Target said it expects severance costs of about $100 million, resulting in a charge against its first-quarter results.

The job cutting began at the senior executive level last week, according to Tar

get employees interviewed by the Star Tribune in recent days. One employee who declined to be identified said that probably a couple of dozen upper managers were let go Monday and gone by lunch.

Target executives announced the job cuts last week, saying they were needed to make the company a "much more agile, effective organization."

The company, the nation's fourth-largest retailer with about $72 billion in annual revenue, employed 13,000 at corporate offices in the Twin Cities before the job cuts, which are the largest ever in its headquarters. Including another 14,000 people at stores around Minnesota, Target is the state's largest employer after the state and federal governments and Mayo Clinic.

Target endured slow sales growth over the last few years, though it remained one of the nation's most profitable retail firms. Its stock for several months has been trading at record highs.

Executives mishandled an expansion in Canada that resulted in several billion dollars in losses over the last two years. And in late 2013, a data breach put the private information of millions of customers at risk and damaged Target's reputation.

Cornell decided in January to end the Canada expansion, leading to 17,600 job losses there and about 550 corporate workers in the Twin Cities who supported the Canadian business.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM.