Minneapolis-based retailer Target Corp. notified about 1,700 employees on Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated as part of the restructuring of the company announced last week by new CEO Brian Cornell.
 
A brief filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed the job cuts: “On March 10, 2015, Target Corporation (“Target”) notified approximately 1,700 employees whose employment will be terminated as part of an overall plan to transform Target’s business. Target expects to incur severance costs of approximately $100 million, all of which are expected to require cash expenditures, which costs will be accrued as a pre-tax charge in Target’s first quarter ending May 2, 2015.”
 
Before Tuesday’s announcement, Target employed 13,000 headquarters employees in the Twin Cities. Approximately 10,000 of those employees work in downtown Minneapolis.
 

In an email to Twin Cities Business, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder provided more details about the severance that the company is offering to employees who are losing their jobs:
 

“Throughout Target’s comprehensive strategic review of our business, we have continued to ask tough questions and, sometimes, the answers to those questions mean we have to make equally tough decisions. We know that to compete in this evolving retail environment, we must simplify how we work. We must reduce complexity and act with a greater sense of urgency.
 
We have previously shared that there would be headcount reductions. And today, we informed our team that we are eliminating approximately 1,700 positions, primarily from our headquarters locations. In addition, we permanently closed 1,400 open positions. While today’s news is difficult, it’s important to know that we will continue to make investments in our business and team— particularly in areas such as digital, personalization, data and analytics, and engineering—to position Target for future success. 
 
Our goal is to treat all affected team members with the respect they deserve. Therefore, Target will provide each individual with a comprehensive package including more than 15 weeks of pay plus additional severance based on years of service. Target will also provide each team member with career outplacement support, access to free executive education courses, and will pay the employer portion of their benefits coverage for the next six months. Today is a very difficult day for the Target team, but we believe these are the right decisions for the company.”

 
Snyder could not break down the job cuts by location across the Twin Cities.