Target’s downtown Minneapolis HQ employees return to in-person work 3 days a week

Hundreds of Target employees are gathered at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis this week for the company’s annual three-day meeting ahead of the holiday season — with Tuesday marking the first day employees at its Nicollet Mall headquarters are required to work in-person three days a week.

Rick Gomez, Target’s chief commercial officer, announced the change in July in a company memo, noting workers in its commercial unit could choose which days they prefer to work downtown.

“Team members tell us they see the benefit from the in-person connection and collaboration that’s a part of being in the office,” a company spokesperson said in a statement from July. “At this point, individual leaders are empowered to make decisions for their teams based on company guidance as well as what’s best for the role they play in our business.”

City leaders praised the move, hoping to boost downtown businesses that have been struggling since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those situated on Nicollet Mall — which Minneapolis Downtown Council CEO Adam Duninick calls “Minnesota’s Main Street.”

In April 2022, Target officials began experimenting with a hybrid policy for its commercial unit employees in downtown, Brooklyn Park and Eagan, which it dubbed “flex for your day.”

“While we won’t ask team members to be in the office with a set schedule or percentage of time, we know our physical offices will play an important role in how we work moving forward,” a company spokesperson said in 2022.

Before the pandemic, Target Corp. was downtown’s largest employer, with about 8,500 workers flooding the skyway system  Monday through Friday, fueling the local economy.

City leaders instituted a Downtown Action Plan last October with the aim of drawing in more foot traffic from visitors via a slew of family-friendly events. A major focus of the plan is to make it easier for pedestrians to get around with the hopes of boosting small businesses. 

“It’s no longer a place where people come into work at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m. It’s a place for celebration, entertainment,” Mayor Jacob Frey said in October 2024.

This story will be updated.