Gov. Mark Dayton is seeking a meeting “as soon as possible” with Target Corp.’s chief executive about the significant layoff affecting employees at the company’s Minnesota headquarters, and once the governor’s family business.
Dayton told reporters Wednesday that he did not get advance warning as is customary with major jobs announcements of state-based corporations. He says he wants to hear directly from CEO Brian Cornell about the discount retailer’s commitment to the state and how it will conduct the downsizing.
In a statement, Target said it looks forward to working with Dayton and other Minnesota elected officials.
Target announced Tuesday that it would cut several thousand jobs over the next two years, primarily at its downtown Minneapolis headquarters and its other Twin Cities offices that together employ more than 13,000 people. Dayton called the layoffs “tragic.”
For Dayton, it’s also personal. His family founded the Target discount store chain back in 1962, and his father Bruce Dayton guided the financial side of the retail business for 43 years, including a stint as CEO of the Dayton Corp.
In 2000, the Dayton-Hudson Corp. was renamed Target Corp. and refocused exclusively on its discount stores. The Dayton family’s direct ties to the company ended years before, but the Dayton name and legacy still resonate in Minnesota.
Tom Webb contributed to this story.
