Target to lay off 1,700 workers

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