Target said Wednesday it is laying off 80 employees who deal with real estate matters now that the Minneapolis-based discounter is opening or remodeling fewer stores.
“As we open fewer general merchandise stores nationwide and focus more on smaller formats, we have made the decision to centralize our architecture, construction, engineering and facilities management teams to best meet the needs of the business going forward,” Target said in a statement.
“Today we informed our team that approximately 80 positions are being eliminated nationwide and that an additional 40 open positions will be closed,” the statement said.
In recent years, Target has greatly reduced the number of big-box stores it opens annually in the United States in favor of a greater emphasis on online sales and a growing roster of smaller-footprint stores.
Target also is scaling down its expansion into Canada and has completed the P-Fresh remodeling program that added fresh groceries to nearly all of its traditional Target stores.
Said the Target statement, “We believe these decisions, while difficult, are the right actions as we continue to transform our business, investing in key business areas to strengthen our ability to compete and thrive well into the future.”
