Citing safety concerns for employees and shoppers due to violent crime and shoplifting, Target closed three locations in the Bay Area over the past month, with 238 employees affected, according to documents filed with California’s Employment Development Department.
State and federal laws mandate reporting of layoffs for companies with staff of 75 or more and 100 or more, respectively. Filings from Nov. 9 indicate that 63 employees in San Francisco, 69 in Oakland, and 106 in Pittsburg—in Contra Costa County—will be affected by the closures.
The decisions were made after staff was threatened with violence and repeated incidents of retail theft, the press release noted.
“At Target, we take the decision to close stores very seriously, and only do so after taking meaningful steps to invest in the guest experience and improve business performance,” officials wrote in the press release. “We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests and contributing to unsustainable business performance.”
Company leaders noted that 32 stores remain open in the Bay Area, employing more than 6,400, and that those laid off because of closures will be offered opportunities at those locations or separation payments, according to the press release.
Faced with rising theft and crime in recent years, managers increased security measures—including training staff to recognize organized retail theft crimes and deescalate violent situations, hiring security companies, and locking some items in cases to protect from theft—but those efforts proved ineffective, officials said.
“Before making this decision, we invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft and organized retail crime in our stores,” Target officials said in the press release. “Despite our efforts, unfortunately, we continue to face fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully.”
Suggesting that more needs to be done to protect public safety, corporate officials requested help to address the growing problems affecting communities.
“While we will continue to make meaningful investments throughout our business, we cannot solve this issue on our own,” the press release said. “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”
Retailers in California lost about $8.72 billion to theft in 2022, a sharp increase from prior years, according to the National Retail Federation.
A number of viral videos circulating online show the smash-and-grab tactics—with stores overwhelmed by groups of thieves—that businesses have been faced with.
Experts say such crimes are responsible for the exodus of retailers in San Francisco, where a once-bustling shopping district is now dotted with “for lease” signs and empty storefronts after a list of companies closed locations, including Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and Starbucks.
Target didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.
