Target Cuts 500 Jobs, Hires More Store Workers

Target just handed its new CEO a chainsaw and a welcome mat on the same day. The Minneapolis-based retailer announced it will eliminate roughly 500 positions across its supply chain and regional district offices, while simultaneously pumping that money into additional staffing hours for frontline store workers, CNBC first reported on February 9, 2026.

The move is among the first major operational decisions under Michael Fiddelke, who took over as chief executive on February 1 after Brian Cornell stepped into the executive chairman role. Fiddelke inherited a retailer whose stock has fallen about 61% from its 2021 all-time high, whose comparable sales declined 2.7% last quarter, and whose customers have been vocal about sloppier shelves, empty aisles, and painfully long checkout lines.

His message is simple: fewer people in back offices, more people on the floor.

Where Exactly Are the 500 Jobs Disappearing?

The 500 eliminated roles break down into two buckets, according to NBC News and Reuters:

• About 400 positions across Target's network of supply chain and distribution sites
• About 100 roles at the store-district level, the regional management layer that oversees groups of stores

No store-level employees are losing their jobs. Target is consolidating the number of store districts, the geographic zones that its nearly 2,000 U.S. stores are organized into. Some regional offices will close entirely. Chief stores officer Adrienne Costanzo and chief supply chain officer Gretchen McCarthy said the changes will "streamline our field structure and better empower our store directors to meet guests' needs," NBC News reported.

Affected employees have already been notified and given support resources. The cuts fall just below the WARN Act threshold that triggers federal mass-layoff disclosure requirements (500+ in a 30-day window).

Why Is Target Pouring Money into Store Floors?

For years, shoppers have complained about a deteriorating in-store experience. CNBC reported that customers have flagged out-of-stock staples, messy aisles, locked-up merchandise, and checkout lines stretching to the pharmacy. One viral account described a single cashier working while the self-checkout queue snaked through the entire store.

Part of the problem is Target's own e-commerce strategy. Unlike Amazon, which fulfills online orders from dedicated warehouses, Target has historically filled the vast majority of digital orders from its stores. That stretched employees and inventory thin, Supply Chain Dive reported. Workers were simultaneously restocking shelves, picking online orders, and managing drive-up service.

The new plan redirects savings from the 500 cut positions into:

• More labor hours for in-store workers so shelves stay stocked and checkout moves faster
• Guest experience training, including Target's "10-4" program, which asks employees to make eye contact and smile within 10 feet and personally greet shoppers within 4 feet
• A new fulfillment model that designates only some stores as online-order shipping hubs, freeing other locations to focus entirely on walk-in customers, Retail Dive reported

Store worker starting wages remain unchanged at $15 to $24 per hour depending on market, NPR previously reported. The company is not raising pay; it is buying more hours.

Who Is Michael Fiddelke and What Is His Turnaround Plan?

Fiddelke's origin story reads like a corporate fairy tale. He joined Target as a summer intern in 2003 while earning his MBA at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. He was hired full-time the following year and changed roles roughly every two years, climbing through finance, merchandising, human resources, and operations before serving as CFO from 2019 to 2024 and then COO.

The board unanimously elected him CEO in August 2025, effective February 1, 2026. He inherited a company with $106.6 billion in annual revenue, roughly 440,000 employees, and a market cap that had shrunk from a pandemic-era peak of $129 billion to about $52 billion.

His three-part turnaround blueprint, outlined by Entrepreneur, focuses on fixing the in-store experience, sharpening merchandise selection, and returning to profitable growth. Target plans to bump capital expenditures to $5 billion in the coming year, a 25% increase, aimed at store upgrades, technology, and merchandising. The company's next earnings report is expected in early March 2026, when Wall Street will get its first look at fourth-quarter results.

How Did Target End Up Here in the First Place?

Target's slide did not happen overnight. The retailer rode a pandemic spending surge that added more than $15 billion in annual revenue in a single fiscal year, but growth has stagnated for four consecutive years. Shoppers flush with stimulus cash have been replaced by inflation-weary consumers tightening their budgets, and Target's strength in discretionary categories like home decor and apparel became a weakness when wallets closed.

Then came the culture wars. In 2023, conservatives boycotted Target over its Pride merchandise. In January 2025, the company rolled back several DEI initiatives, scrapping its REACH (Racial Equity Action and Change) strategy and rebranding its supplier diversity program. Progressive shoppers launched their own boycott. The result: $12.4 billion in lost market value and a first-quarter sales decline of nearly 3%, CNN reported. Foot traffic at some locations dropped 5-7% within two weeks.

Q3 2025 brought more bad news: net sales of $25.3 billion, down 1.5% year over year. Comparable store sales fell 3.8%, partially offset by 2.4% digital growth. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.78, roughly 4% below the prior year. Analysts started using words like "identity crisis" and "lost its spark," as Twin Cities Business detailed.

Is This Part of a Bigger Retail Layoff Wave?

Target is far from alone. U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs in January 2026, the highest January total since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Hiring announcements fell to just 5,306, also a January low since the Great Recession.

The retail and consumer sector is getting hit from every direction:

• Amazon announced 16,000 corporate layoffs in January, part of a broader 30,000-job cut as it flattens management layers
• Nike is eliminating 775 distribution-center jobs across Tennessee and Mississippi as it accelerates automation
• Macy's is closing 14 stores in 11 states and shuttering two warehouses, affecting more than 1,000 workers
• UPS announced 30,000 job cuts after severing ties with Amazon
• Francesca's is liquidating over 450 stores and shutting down permanently

AI was cited as the reason for 7,624 job cuts in January alone, about 7% of all announced layoffs, Challenger reported. "Most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026," said Andy Challenger, the firm's chief revenue officer.

What Does This Mean for Retail Workers Right Now?

Target's restructuring sends a mixed but meaningful signal. The corporate playbook in 2026 is clear: cut overhead, invest in the customer-facing layer. Walmart is on a similar track, rolling out performance-based raises of up to 5% for hourly workers and investing $1 billion in skills-based training by 2026. If you work on a store floor, you are currently the person retailers are fighting to keep.

If you work in a distribution center, a regional office, or a middle-management layer, the picture is different. Automation is accelerating. Companies are consolidating supply chain footprints. And AI is giving executives a reason to flatten org charts that have been growing for decades.

For Target specifically, the next milestone is the fourth-quarter earnings call in early March. Fiddelke will need to show Wall Street that his "more people on the floor" strategy is actually translating into better comparable sales and higher customer-satisfaction scores. The stock currently sits around $115, and analysts are watching closely, with an average price target of about $102, suggesting some still see downside risk.

Whether Fiddelke's bet pays off will come down to a question shoppers have been asking for years: is Target a place worth visiting again?

People Also Asked

How many employees does Target have in 2026?

Target employs roughly 440,000 people across nearly 2,000 U.S. stores, distribution centers, and corporate offices. The 500 jobs being cut represent a small fraction of the total workforce. Store-level positions are not affected; the cuts target supply chain and regional district roles.

Who is the new CEO of Target?

Michael Fiddelke became Target's CEO on February 1, 2026, succeeding Brian Cornell. Fiddelke started at Target as an intern in 2003 and held roles in finance, HR, merchandising, and operations. He previously served as CFO and COO before his appointment.

Why is Target cutting jobs and hiring at the same time?

Target is shifting resources from back-office and supply chain roles to frontline store positions. Customers have complained about out-of-stock shelves, messy aisles, and long checkout lines, according to CNBC. The company is buying more in-store labor hours and investing in a new fulfillment model that relieves some stores of online-order packing duties.

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