Target to cut thousands of jobs in $2B growth strategy

(usatoday 03/03/15) NEW YORK — Target plans to invest billions of dollars this year, streamlining operations, opening more small stores and creating a product mix designed to appeal to a younger, broader consumer demographic.

The retailer will also cut several thousand jobs in the next two years as part of a cost-savings plan, Target managers said at a meeting Tuesday with financial analysts and investors. The company didn't say how many of its employees will be cut, although most are expected to be at the company's Minneapolis base, where it employs 13,000.

Target shares rose 19 cents to $78.19 in after-hours trading.

Target's plans come nearly a week after the company said same-store sales for 2014 increased 1.3% and 3.8% in the fourth quarter.

CEO Brian Cornell and other executives outlined the retailer's business priorities for 2015, which are focused on making specific product categories more stylish and trendy and encouraging shopping across both digital channels and stores.

Target has been working to enhance itself as a shopping destination after years of missteps that saw the brand lose its edge on fashionable home goods and apparel. Cornell was brought on last summer after former CEO Gregg Steinhafel left the company in the wake of a 2013 holiday-season data breach and trouble at the Canadian division, which Target is closing. Full Story

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