Target to pay out sixth employee ‘thank you’ bonus

Target Corp. aims to give $200 recognition bonuses to all of its more than 340,000 frontline workers, a total investment of $75 million.

Plans call for the bonus to be paid in August to all hourly full-time and part-time employees in stores and distribution centers, Target said Wednesday. U.S.-based headquarters hourly staff who support Target’s customer and employee contact centers also will receive the $200 payment.

Target said the bonus is the company’s way of “saying thanks for all you’ve done over the past six months,” as the retailer and the nation continue climbing out of the the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our team members continue to deliver each and every day for our guests and one another,”  Melissa Kremer, chief human resources officer at Target, said in a statement. “Our culture, strategy and success would not be possible without our incredible team at the center of it all.”  

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Target has issued six recognition bonuses to frontline workers and/or team leaders. Most recently, in late January, the company announced a $200 million payment round including $500 bonuses to all hourly workers in stores, distribution centers, and corporate and field-based offices plus bonuses of $1,000 to $2,000 for all store directors, executive team leaders and salaried distribution center leaders.

Related:Target’s latest workforce data show advances in diversity

Target kicked off the bonus program in April 2020, announcing payments of $250 to $1,500 for 20,000 hourly store team leads, who oversee individual departments in Target stores. The bonuses were part of a $300 million package of paid leave and employee relief benefits plus a $2 hourly wage increase through May 2. Then in mid-June 2020, Target unveiled plans to permanently raise its starting hourly wage to $15, effective July 5, via an upgraded and extended pay and benefits package for its U.S. workforce. The retailer also announced a $200 “recognition bonus” to be paid at the end of July to frontline store and distribution center hourly workers, including full- and part-time staff, for their efforts during the COVID-19 crisis. Also in July 2020, Target paid out performance bonuses to all store directors, executive team leaders and salaried distribution center leaders.

And last October, Target announced $200 bonuses for 350,000 hourly frontline workers in stores and distribution centers, including seasonal hires, and in customer and employee contact centers. The company said the bonus round, paid out by early November, represented a $70 million-plus employee investment heading into the holiday season.

Related:Target funnels $5 million toward COVID-19 vaccine access

Overall, Minneapolis-based Target operates more than 1,900 stores nationwide.