The Minneapolis-based company said the decision to cut about 1,800 positions wasn’t about reducing costs but about improving efficiency and decision-making.

Yet economists said the move more reflects larger trends rippling through Minnesota and the national economy, which are only exacerbated by the company’s struggles over the past few years.

“Minnesota’s economy is a lot like the nation’s,” said Louis Johnston, professor of economics at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. “The job market is kind of frozen right now. People aren’t quitting, and employers aren’t hiring. We’re starting to see cracks where businesses are finally deciding, ‘OK, we have to make a move.’”

With Target among downtown Minneapolis’ largest employers, and with the Twin Cities economy heavily reliant on professional corporate jobs, the announcement has raised concerns about what moves like this could signal.

Companies like Target and General Mills are looking ahead to slower growth, Johnston said, driven by new tariffs and economic uncertainty, which could dampen consumer spending. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping corporate workforces, especially for entry and mid-level positions.

“The place where AI is really making a difference is those analyst and specialist jobs that used to go to recent college graduates,” Johnston said. “You can now use AI, or a combination of a person with less education and AI, to do that work.”

He compared this moment to previous waves of technological change, for example when computers gradually replaced clerical workers. Adoption of AI has the potential to replace workers, improve productivity and create different jobs.