Target employees voice alarm over understaffing after modernization
A widely upvoted Reddit post on November 19, 2025 captured current and former Target team members describing degraded store conditions, understaffing, and operational problems they blamed on the company modernization and reduced payroll. The thread matters because those frontline reports point to risks for in store service, seasonal readiness, and employee morale during a critical retail period.
On November 19 a popular r/Target thread titled "Target is failing" drew extensive comments from current and former team members reporting persistent operational breakdowns they linked to recent company changes. Contributors described more frequent stockouts, fewer staffed checkouts, and congested backrooms, and many credited those problems to a shift toward a generalized staffing model and reductions in available payroll.
Posters in the thread said the labor model changes removed specialized roles such as backroom teams and unload crews, leaving fewer people to handle tasks that previously ensured quick restocking and orderly inventory flow. Several sellers and team leads who participated in the discussion said the loss of role specialization meant workers were stretched across more responsibilities, and that stores struggled to maintain standards for displays, inventory accuracy, and checkout coverage. One succinct critique in the thread said, "Modernization has been a failure from day one."
Employees described cascading effects on both guests and staff. Longer transaction times and slower restocking were reported alongside rising stress and falling morale among frontline employees. Contributors also raised concerns about accountability among store leaders, saying that reduced hours and a generalized workforce made it harder to assign and track ownership of critical tasks. The thread captured a range of frontline sentiment that suggests operational inconsistencies across locations.
The timing of the complaints is significant for retail operations. Late November is a pivotal period for holiday sales and staffing demands, and persistent execution problems could harm customer experience and sales if not addressed. For employees the reported changes increase workload and unpredictability, potentially affecting retention and the ability of teams to deliver a consistent guest experience.
Target has been publicly rolling out labor and operational changes under its modernization initiatives in recent years. The Reddit thread provides a snapshot of how some employees are experiencing those shifts on the ground. If the patterns described in the discussion are widespread they could prompt renewed attention from store managers and corporate leaders about staffing, role design, and execution ahead of the busiest weeks in retail.
