Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has indicated that it will slice 9% of its headquarters staff as the retailer continues to weather the economic downturn and uncertainty in 2009's performance. This week has seen companies from every industry cuts tens of thousands of jobs. In what is starting to infiltrate the headquarters of many companies, it's not just for store workers or front-line folks any longer.Target also said it would cut back on new store openings this year in addition to closing down a distribution center for an unspecified time. At its headquarters in Minnesota, 600 positions will be let go and the company will cancel plans to hire for an additional 40 positions. In Arkansas -- just down the street from the headquarters of rival Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target will close a distribution center and put another 500 people out of work.
Target President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said "we are clearly operating in an unprecedented economic environment that requires us to make some extremely difficult decisions to ensure Target remains competitive over the long term." Target, in this writer's estimation, will continue losing sales to Wal-Mart as the economic uncertainty flag continues waving, but will be fine in the long-term and will regain its composure. That is, if it can prepare its product mix for changing consumer tastes to ensure consistent profitability and make those changes as fast as possible when the economy hits the fan. Until then, I would suggest keeping TGT shares if you own them, but that's about it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2009 @ 3:15PM
BHarrison said...
Do you remember that a few months ago the economists and the politicians wer quibbling over whether we were "goig into a recession" or not . . . NOW the general concensus is that we HAVE been in a full fledged RECESSION for OVER 13 months . . . . Ha! The "bottom line" is that if one believes the economists and the politicians, then they are naive FOOLS.
"They" never tell or admit to the truth to the public; and the news is ALWAYS WORSE than whatever they announce or acknowledge, right. So, having said that, "they" are admitting that "a lot worse is yet to come" . . . so, you can imagine how unimaginably bad it may become (reminds me of some futuristic sci-fi film about society going to hell with pervasive chaos).
While we'd all like to be "optimistic", we do have to be REALISTIC . . . and Congress is doing an abysmal job with the bail out plans . . . Congress has yet to ensure that the CORRUPT CEOs are indicted or that any of their ill gotten monies are seized and returned to the corporations (the stock holders).
By the news reports yesterday 9 out of 10 of the "failing corporations are still being "led" by the SAME CEOs who managed their decline via the pyramid and Ponzi schemes, or the frauds of the "derivatives", etc.
The truth behind it all is that people are generally so apathetic, selfcentered, selfabsorbed, and lazy/stupid that they don't bother to attack the root cause of our corrupt economic problems . . . and that is our INEPT, INCOMPETENT, and CORRUPT Congressmen who "sold out" to the special interests groups and enabled and allowed the FIs and the corporations to orchestrate all of the BLATANT FRAUDS against the American people.
"People have the government that they deserve . . . because if they tolerate it, then they deserve it" . . . and now we, as a society and a nation, have to pay for having tolerated it for so long.
6-10-2009 @ 1:32PM
Howard Barnes said...
At age 51 my sister-in-law was laid off as a department manager in one of California's Target stores.She would of had full retirement in 3 years.
Her and my disabled brother lost their home as a result.
She was forced in to early retirement and can't draw benefits until age 55.
I know her dedication level ,and she was hung out to dry.
Does age have anything to do with this decision ?