Target laying off 1,700 workers, eliminating 1,400 open jobs

BUSINESS

Target laying off 1,700 workers, eliminating 1,400 open jobs

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, March 10, 2015 11:28AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, March 10, 2015 12:47PM EDT

Shopping baskets are stacked at a Chicago area Target store Wednesday, May 20, 2009. (AP / Charles Rex Arbogast)

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Target Corp. says it will lay off 1,700 workers and permanently close out another 1,400 open positions.

The announcement puts a number on last week's announcement that the U.S. retailer would eliminate several thousand jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at saving $2 billion in costs over the next two years.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder says the cuts will come primarily at headquarters locations in the Minneapolis area, where the company employs about 13,500 people.

The U.S. job cuts follow Target's decision to pull out of Canada, shedding about 17,600 employees once the process is complete, following a disastrous foray into the company's first international market.

In January, Target chief executive Brian Cornell made the decision to close all of the company's 133 Canadian stores in order to focus on revving up sales in the United States, where it competes in the department store segment against Walmart.

Target shares fell 31 cents to $78.26 in morning trading Tuesday.