Report: Target staff fear job losses amid sales slump

Daily Mail​

26-05-2025

Published: | Updated:
Another wrote: 'All we can do is ride it out and hope for the best. If it comes down to it, prepare a resume just in case.' Several workers have also posted TikTok videos showing backrooms overwhelmed with merchandise that hasn't made it to the sales floor — alleging that understaffing is leaving them buried. 'I hope these go viral so the corporate people might rethink how they unstaffed their stores and expect spotless departments,' one employee commented on a video showing mounds of backroom clothing.
Target hasn't responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment on the employee predictions and complaints. But two days ago, the company released its quarterly earnings, which badly missed Wall Street's expectations. 'Target has found itself in a challenging position,' Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData, told DailyMail.com.
'The business is not terrible, but it is under pressure and that is causing nervousness among associates.' Fewer shoppers went into Target stores during the last quarter, and when they did, they spent less money. The company reported $23.85 billion in sales during the last quarter, a 2.8 percent drop from the previous three-month period. Analysts predicted the store would make $24.23 billion. So far this year, Target's share price has shed over 31 percent.
'I want to be clear, we're not satisfied with these results, so we're moving with urgency to navigate through this period of volatility,' Target CEO Brian Cornell said. 'We've got to drive traffic back into our stores or visits to our site.' The company also announced that it was paring back its financial outlook for 2025, signaling it believes a recovery might take a while. Target isn't in dire financial shape. The company made $5 billion in profit last year, and is still raking in money.
But it's wobbles are in stark contrast to its biggest competitor, Walmart, which has reported gigantic sales figures. 'Underlying profit at Target is squeezed and that makes it more likely the company will be cautious in hiring and tight in the labor hours it allocates,' Saunders added. 'That makes staff worry for their own jobs. All of this is exacerbated because communication from management has, generally, been poor.'
Target is dealing with other non-employment headwinds, too. Cornell joined Walmart and Home Depot's CEOs in a private White House meeting, warning President Donald Trump that his tariff regime threatened to deplete product availability and increase prices on consumers . The company has publicly warned that tariffs will slash billions from profits, making it harder to continue business investments. 'They have cancelled some remodels,' one Target employee claimed on Reddit.
Another added: 'Sales are so low I would be shocked if it doesn't close sooner rather than later.' Plus, the brand is facing customer anger from both right- and left-leaning shoppers. Target walked back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in a pitch to appease the Trump administration. Conservatives have been boycotting the brand over Pride Month collections that included bathing suits for trans swimmers .
Meanwhile, Target has already silently started increasing prices on products made in other countries. It's a particularly difficult time to balance higher prices in the US economy. Consumer confidence has slumped for five consecutive months , with shoppers reporting fears over continued inflation.
American shoppers have been smacked with increasingly lofty grocery prices after the inflation rate peaked over 9 percent in 2022. Still, the overall economy has remained resilient despite the price hikes. American jobs have remained surprisingly steady and the average wage has continued with slow growth.