Thread regarding Target Corp. layoffs

I was caught in the layoffs last year, so I don't have inside knowledge of what's been happening over the last 12 months. That said, while I agree that this is not something that is imminent, I will say that there is a well known cycle that companies can fall into called "The Death Spiral". Basically a company is not making enough money, so they start to cut costs. Those cuts impact the product, which in turn impacts sales. Because sales are low, costs have to be cut again. This cycle repeats until the company cannot sustain itself and either is swallowed up by another, or goes out of business. Think about it like watching a toilet empty. The water moves slowly on the outside of the spiral, but much faster on the inside. Target isn't near the inside yet, but the signs of swirling are there. In the mid 2000s Target began to do things like buy back stock with profits rather than invest in growth and efficiencies. They started to look at making the quarterly numbers look good to keep investors happy rather than looking to the long term impact of those decisions. I firmly believe that the quick and large entrance into Canada was due to this. They were concerned that the investors wouldn't be happy with a longer rate of return, so they tried to go in fast and hard to start getting money back and it didn't work. I would argue that they are at a crossroads right now. This cutting could be a refocusing that allows them to plan and invest in the future. Or it could be the continuation of the death spiral. Only time will tell.