Fact 1: Gregg told investors, with Mulligan reiterating, that Target is evaluating its corporate structure and will be reorganizing to eliminate redundancies. He FLAT OUT SAID THAT.
Fact 2: Target removed "$100B in sales by 2017" and replaced it with "15% ROIC" in its goal statement to achieve $8 EPS. Meaning, sales are going to get Target there, so cutting expense will.
Fact 3: All leaders at Target have been asked to submit their team's results if headcount were eliminated by 10% and by 20%.
Ignoring the hearsay, watercooler chatter, and rumor website speculation...there are actual facts that point to layoffs that are impossible to ignore. Combining those with any sort of clues as to "when" is creating the anxiety.