Target to Pay an Extra $2/Hour on Holiday Weekends

On the heels of announcing it will offer up to 5 million extra hours for store employees looking to boost their take-home pay this holiday season, Target Corp. said Tuesday it will pay its hourly employees an extra $2 an hour on select weekends in November and December. 

The holiday pay bump from the Minneapolis-based retailer will be in effect on Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 20 through Dec. 19 as well as on Friday, Dec. 24, and Sunday, Dec. 26. Hourly store workers as well as select headquarters and service-team members will receive the $2/hour bonus during that time.

In addition, hourly supply-chain team members will receive an extra $2 an hour for a two-week period—the timing depends on the facility's location—between Oct. 10 and Dec. 18. The start of that period coincides with Target's Deal Days event, which runs in stores and online Oct. 10–12.

"This is just one more way of expressing our deep gratitude for your significant contributions," Target Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer said in a note to Target employees. "You have shown up consistently for our guests and one another with a tremendous amount of care and we know this busy holiday season will be no different."

Target said last month that it plans to hire 100,000 new store team members heading into the end of the year, down from the 130,000 new workers it sought for the 2020 and 2019 holiday periods. The retailer is looking to lean more heavily on its current roster of store employees as it eyes a 2021 holiday season likely to be defined more broadly for retailers by continued supply-chain challenges and an ongoing labor shortage running up against strong consumer demand and an eagerness for in-person celebrations. 

Target also is adding 30,000 new supply-chain positions to its facilities nationwide as it seeks to keep pace with strong-and-still-climbing consumer interest in online ordering, especially via the retailer's popular Same Day services. In August, the company—which fulfilled 95% of its online orders through stores in 2020—said it would open four new sortation centers, where store-picked orders are batched and routed for delivery, by early 2022. The new centers will be located in Dallas, Houston, metro Philadelphia, and Lawrenceville, Ga.

"This team continues to be at the heart of our strategy," Kremer said in Tuesday's note to employees, adding thanks for "the many ways you bring joy to all families and for all you do to make Target a place where we can care, grow and win together."