When Target announced in March that it was shedding nearly 1 million square feet of its downtown Minneapolis office space, the business community took notice. For the retail giant, this accounts for almost a quarter of its total office footprint. Despite this significant move, Target remains committed to its lease on the space until 2031.
Target’s decision reflects the company’s embrace of the hybrid workplace model, where employees split their workweek between home, the office, and flexible workspaces. According to Target’s statement to The New York Times, this approach aims to balance flexibility and collaboration while reducing the need for physical office space.
“This change is driven by Target’s longer-term headquarters environment that will include a hybrid model of remote and on-site work,” the company shared. “This allows for flexibility and collaboration, ultimately requiring less space.”
For the 3,500 employees affected, Target’s embrace of hybrid work likely comes as no surprise. The company has long prioritized employee wellness and offered nontraditional workspaces, such as Target Commons—a coworking-inspired venue across from its headquarters. These initiatives signal that Target has never been a “butts-in-seats” organization.
Still, eliminating a quarter of its real estate portfolio with a decade left on the lease is a bold commitment. As Melissa Kramer, Target’s head of HR, explained, “Our headquarters will always play a central role in who we are and how we work at Target. We believe in the culture, collaboration, and competitive advantages of working together at our vibrant headquarters in the Twin Cities and around the world. But the reality is that ‘Flex for Your Day’ will require less office space, so we’ll be ending our City Center operations in downtown Minneapolis.”
Target employees have yet to return to the office, and no return date has been set. Instead, the company is taking this time to reimagine the future role of the office. Kramer’s email to employees described the vision: “Our headquarters environment will include a hybrid model of remote and on-site work. This will allow for the flexibility many of you have come to value while also providing opportunities for the in-person connection and collaboration that’s central to our team and culture. Our intent is to blend the best of both work environments.”
As Target refines its hybrid work program, the executive team will monitor how employees flex their workdays while managing costs and calculating ROI. In the competitive Twin Cities job market, home to companies like 3M, Best Buy, and UnitedHealthcare, Target’s approach could influence hiring and retention strategies.
Even companies without Target’s scale can adopt hybrid work as a controlled experiment. LiquidSpace provides the only enterprise-grade platform for managing hybrid and distributed workplace strategies in one place.
With LiquidSpace Enterprise, employees can seamlessly book internal and approved third-party workspaces through an easy-to-use mobile interface. Meanwhile, management gains insights into workspace adoption, spending, and ESG impacts, ensuring data-driven decisions for hybrid work programs.
Learn more and request a demo at liquidspace.com.