Small Downtown Business Braces For Impact Following Target Layoffs
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The massive layoffs at Target headquarters will be felt throughout downtown Minneapolis after 1,700 people lost their jobs on Tuesday.
The reduction means Target's corporate staff is now 13 percent smaller. The company said another 1,400 open positions will not be filled.
Many businesses rely on Target employees as their primary customers.
Joe Schmidt is the owner of 10th Street Convenience Store in downtown Minneapolis. The business has been at the location for six years.
Schmidt said on a daily basis he gets 300 to 400 Target employees as customers. When he heard the news that hundreds of people had been laid off, he was concerned.
Schmidt said it's possible that Target's decision will affect his bottom line.
"You're constantly trying to get new business in, but you never know what's going to happen," Schmidt said. "It may affect my help. I have two other employees. I may have to get rid of one of them just because of Target."
Schmidt expects the Target layoffs will decrease his store traffic by about 100 customers a day.
Dave Brennan, a marketing professor at the University of St. Thomas, predicts others business will probably see the same fallout.
