Hundreds of Target Employees Laid Off in Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Target Corp. is terminating about 550 employees in the Twin Cities as it ends operations in Canada.

The Minneapolis retailer says the bulk of those workers, about 350, are being laid off Wednesday. The remaining positions will be eliminated when Target finishes liquidation of its 133 stores in Canada by mid-May.

Target says affected employees will be paid for at least 60 days and severance packages will be given based on years of service. Before the layoffs, Target employed about 13,500 people in the Twin Cities, including about 10,000 employees at its headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.

The retailer announced last month that it was ending its unprofitable Canadian operations less than two years after opening the stores.