Copyright startribune
Target employees being laid off received an email at 8 a.m. Tuesday, instructing them to join a 9 a.m. audio call with human resources. That call was supposed to outline important information, but the audio did not work for half of it, two employees said, prompting human resources to repeat the information. Those who will still have their jobs received emails at 9:17 a.m. The notifications followed Target’s Thursday announcement that it would restructure and eliminate 1,800 positions, with about 1,000 people losing their jobs. Workers had been told to work from home this week and await word, mostly on Tuesday. Target’s playbook, though it had glitches, is par for the course in today’s corporate environment. Layoffs have become more impersonal in recent years, a trend some experts say has been accelerated by the rise of remote and hybrid work, where employees may meet colleagues only a few times a week or year. Sometimes there’s no warning. The process might begin with an ominous video call invitation or an unexpected email from human resources — often paired with losing access to work devices. Gone are the days when employees could hug co-workers while packing up their desks. Now, others pack their belongings and ship them to their homes. “Layoffs have become more systematized,” said Connie Wanberg, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. “During the pandemic, many companies had to communicate sensitive news remotely, and that practice has persisted.”
