Target salaried employees who are eligible for bonuses will only receive 87% of their potential bonus for fiscal year 2024 based on total-year financial performance, a company spokesperson confirmed to HR Dive.
That percentage is a considerable drop from FY 2023, where bonuses were paid at 100%.
In earnings reported March 4 for FY 2024, Target announced that net sales had declined, though comparative sales year-to-year were up. Analysts told Retail Dive at the time that Target was in a “difficult spot” moving into 2025 due to competitive pressures and significant incoming risks.
Target also said that the beginning of 2025 may be marked by “meaningful year-over-year profit pressure” driven in part by tariff uncertainty, indicating cautiousness moving forward.
Bonuses were based only on FY 2024 financial performance, the spokesperson told HR Dive. But Target has undergone a number of shifts in recent months.
The company tapped new executives at the beginning of the year to replace one retiring and one departing leader, and also drew headlines at the end of January when it ended some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives due to an “evolving external landscape,” the company said at the time.
In its slew of changes, Target ended its three-year DEI goals as well as its Racial Equity Action and Change initiatives, according to a company blog post; it also ended its participation in third-party diversity surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Experts told HR Dive earlier this year that salaries will remain fairly steady in 2025, though they also said that tighter budgets may press employers to be more strategic in their investments — meaning more focus may be placed overall in pay-for-performance, such as bonuses.
Compensation may also be a key way employers hold onto talent, especially after a year of high turnover in 2024, ZipRecruiter said in December.
Clarification: This story has been updated to include more information from the earnings report.
