Target announced it is laying off 1,000 employees and leaving hundreds of other positions unfilled as the company continues to struggle financially.

The company has faced a variety of financial challenges, including a months-long boycott by Black customers following changes to Target’s diversity policies. The struggles have already been followed by a change in the company’s leadership and may lead to further developments within the retail chain.

Targetis cutting 1,800 corporate jobs in a restructuring effort

Target announced Thursday that it will be laying off 1,000 corporate employees, and it will not fill an additional 800 open positions. Incoming Target CEO Michael Fiddelke announced the job cuts in a corporate memo, according to Reuters. No store employees are being laid off in this move. Additional details on who will be let go will be announced on Tuesday, and corporate employees have been told to work from home next week. Those laid off will continue to be paid through Jan. 3; they will also receive severance packages. Fiddelke presented the job cuts as an effort to streamline corporate governance of the company. “Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life,” wrote in the memo. A spokesperson for Target similarly explained that “it’s important to understand that we did not take these actions to save cost,” instead presenting the moves as “the first step in rewiring our organization to be agile and make faster decisions,” ABC 7 reported.

Continuing boycott after Target cuts DEI, Black business programs

The announcement by Target comes as the company continues to struggle in the face of a boycott by Black customers since February. Only days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order against DEI initiatives, Target announced that it was rolling back its DEI efforts and its policies that aimed to benefit Black businesses. In response to these changes, Atlanta-based pastor Jamal Bryant called for Black customers to stop shopping at the store. During the boycott, Target has seen significant declines in profits and foot traffic in its stores. The boycott has seemingly added to a four-year slump in shares for Target compared to its all-time high in 2021. The decline has come as competitor Walmart has increased in value over a similar time period.

Corporate moves have not satisfied boycott concerns

The new layoffs are the latest move made by Target this year as it faces its financial woes and the Black customer boycott. The company’s current CEO, Brian Cornell, met with Bryant and other leading activists in April, but the meeting did not satisfactorily address the boycott leaders’ concerns. The company announced in August that Cornell would be stepping down from his role as CEO; he will remain as head of the company’s executive board after Fiddelke takes over as CEO in February. Despite the company’s struggles, it has not yet announced a change to its cancellation of diversity policies. Earlier in October, prior to the layoff announcement, Bryant urged Black customers to continue the boycott, accusing Target of not following through on promises made in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd; he also said Target has failed to respond to concerns about supporting Black businesses and creating opportunities for Black employees to scale the corporate ladder.

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For now, at least, Target does not appear to be in a rush to address the issues raised by the months-long boycott by Black customers. As the company continues to shake up its corporate structure, it faces the prospect of continuing economic struggles, and Black customers are being urged to continue to withhold their presence and money until Target responds to the concerns about its swerve on diversity.

The post Target Cuts 2K Jobs, Including 1K Layoffs, Amid Anti-DEI Backlash, Continuing Sales Slump appeared first on Blavity.



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