The U.S. supermarket chain Target, one of the most popular in the country, announced Thursday that it plans 1,000 layoffs and eliminate 800 vacant positions to reduce its global corporate workforce by 8% and “simplify” its business structure.
Target CEO Michael Fiddelke said in an internal email to employees that the company’s “complexity” is preventing it from making progress and the “too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it difficult to execute ideas,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Target announces layoffs just before Christmas
Target to lay off about 1,000 employees on eve of Christmas saleshttps://t.co/XloNUkYn9p
– CNN en Español (@CNNEE) October 24, 2025
Fiddelke, who was appointed in August and took over in September, added that the company will report the changes next Tuesday and asked all U.S. office employees, who will be most affected by the layoffs, to work from home next week.
The newspaper also notes that management positions are targeted, and those who are laid off will receive their salary until January and may be eligible for severance pay.
Fiddelke said the downsizing will enable progress toward its “key priorities”: regaining competitiveness in the style and design segment of the retail sector, improving the shopper experience and using “technology to drive the next episode of growth.”
Target announced on August 20 another quarter marked by declining sales and traffic in its stores, part of the problems plaguing the retail sector, and revealed the promotion of then COO Fiddelke, news that generated a stock market drop of nearly 10%.
The company reported second-quarter operating income of $1.3 billion, down 19% from the same quarter last year, but its total revenue of $25.2 billion was down less than 1% year-on-year, with online sales up 4%.
Target came under fire recently for withdrawing its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to align with the policies of Donald Trump’s administration, prompting calls for a boycott, and like other firms has suffered from the consumer impact of its tariff policies.
In addition, according to economic media, it has lost market share to the Walmart supermarket chain, which is the largest retailer in the United States and the world.
Filed under: Layoffs at Target
With information from EFE
