The Black boycott is hitting Target.
With the holiday season fast approaching, the retailer announced its first major round of layoffs in response to declining sales, which an ongoing boycott by Black consumers has exacerbated.
Target is reportedly planning to cut 1,800 corporate jobs. Approximately 800 positions will be permanently eliminated, and around 1,000 employees with managerial roles will be let go. In a memo to employees, Target leadership informed them that the 8 percent workforce reduction is aimed at eliminating “layers and overlapping work.”
“We’ve announced changes to our corporate structure today in an effort to accelerate our strategy and return to growth,” a company spokesperson told ABC News. “It’s important to understand that we did not take these actions to save cost; adjusting our global HQ structure is the first step in rewiring our organization to be agile and make faster decisions.
“The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life,” Michael Fiddelke, COO and incoming CEO of Target, continued in a note to all of Target’s HQ Team Members.
In preparation for the layoffs, Target encouraged all its U.S. corporate employees to work from home next week. However, the retailer stated that those affected will receive severance packages and support, along with benefits and pay, until January 3, 2026.
As part of the Trump Administration’s initiative to end DEI, Target, as well as cities, corporations, universities, and non-profit organizations, have eliminated or curtailed DEI practices.
Under DEI-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies, Blacks and other minorities obtained funding, jobs, and high-ranking positions at institutions and corporations, positions from which they had been previously deliberately excluded, and that for decades were mostly led by whites.
When Target eliminated its DEI initiatives in January, Bryant and Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minnesota activist, responded with two separate boycotts. Both leaders urged Black consumers not to shop at Target. In Chicago, Black leaders organized protests at local Target stores, and callers flooded radio station WVON 1690 to support the boycott.
Since then, Target has not only undergone leadership changes but has also had unsuccessful meetings with civil rights leader Al Sharpton and the Congressional Black Caucus.
“The leadership change doesn’t mean anything without a culture change,” Washington-based DC Boycott Target Coalition previously shared, explaining that the retailer needs to see that its previous commitment to diversity and inclusion should be “more important than bowing to an administration that is filled with racism, failure, and hatred.”
In July, at its annual conference, the National Progressive Baptist Convention announced that it would join the nationwide boycott against Target.
The announcement came after Target gave a $300,000 donation to the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. Boycott leaders, Minnesota-based civil rights attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, and Georgia Pastor Jamal Bryant, say the donation undermines their push for meaningful corporate accountability and are urging the return of the funds.