TGT - Target eliminates 475 jobs, most at Minneapolis HQ
- "Target Corp. laid off 475 employees Wednesday and said it will not fill 700 open positions…"
- "The retailer declined to make an executive available for questions or say whether more layoffs are in the works. The company also wouldn’t say how many of the 700 open positions were based in the Twin Cities."
- "The layoffs are Target’s largest since January 2009, when the nation’s second-largest retailer said it would cut 1,100 positions from its headquarters."
Takeaway: In the grand scheme of the over 360,000 people that Target employs, this is obviously a rounding error. We get that. However, symbolically, it kind of matters. Bottom line here is the company was already on a downward slope, and the recent data breach headlines plastered across TVs, mobile devices and computer screens across America delivered additional unwanted momentum. Look, Target has not been forced into cost cutting measures since January of '09 when the stock price was in the mid-30's. Not good.
Editor's note: This is an excerpt from Hedgeye Retail Analyst Brian McGough's morning research. In case you didn't already know about McGough, he's really good. Learn more about becoming a Hedgeye subscriber today.