Target plans to hire up to 100K holiday workers

Target's announcement comes a day after Walmart announced a significant reduction in its seasonal hiring

Target plans to hire up to 100,000 seasonal workers as it prepares for a bustling holiday season set against an uncertain economic environment. 

The Minneapolis-based retailer's hiring initiative, announced Thursday, was in line with its hiring plans last year, but it was well below 2020 when the company looked to fill around 130,000 positions.  

This year, though, the company said that holiday hires will benefit from its new wage range, starting between $15 and $24 an hour, which was announced in February.  

HOLIDAY HIRING: WALMART TO ADD FEWER WORKERS THIS YEAR

To gain an edge over competitors, the company claims the boost in earning potential for employees positions Target as a "wage leader in every market where the retailer has stores or facilities." 

Target

An associate stock shelves in the women's wear department at a Target store last month in New York.  (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews / AP Newsroom)

Target plans to fill positions at stores and supply chain facilities nationwide. Employees will be responsible for services including same-day fulfillment, packing and shipping orders, according to the retailer. 

Before filling shifts with new hires, Target said it plans to work with "current team members to help provide their desired hours and schedules throughout the holidays." 

Similarly, both Walmart and Michaels have trimmed their holiday hiring this year but promised to give current members extra shifts and more earning potential.   

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On Wednesday, Walmart announced plans to hire 40,000 seasonal and full-time workers across the company, down from 150,000 in 2021. 

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Target Shopping Cart (iStock / iStock)

However, the retailer will offer current employees an opportunity to work extra shifts first before filling them with new hires. 

"As we prepare to serve customers this season, we’ll begin, as usual, by offering additional hours to current associates who want them," Maren Waggoner, senior vice president of field people for Walmart U.S., said in a blog post. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TGT TARGET CORP. 177.14 +2.38 +1.36%
WMT WALMART INC. 60.17 -0.55 -0.91%

Michaels Chief Operating Officer Joe Venezia told FOX Business earlier this month that the company deliberately decreased the number of seasonal hires this year to 15,000 in order to increase the number of hours available for seasonal employees.

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This "means more earning potential for those hires," Venezia added.

Last year, the company tried to recruit more than 20,000 employees for the season.