Target orders merchandising teams back to Minneapolis offices three days

Target has told a large merchandising unit that buyers, planners and sourcing teams must resume in-person work in Downtown Minneapolis for three days each week, a move that affects several thousand headquarters employees in the Twin Cities.

The directive, issued Jan. 13, 2026, shifts a significant portion of merchandising roles from a primarily hybrid rhythm toward more regular on-site collaboration. Company communications said leaders are empowered to set team-level schedules in line with company guidance and role needs, and framed the change as intended to enable faster collaboration and problem solving among teams that design, buy and move merchandise.

For employees, the update is more than a scheduling tweak. Merchandising work often requires cross-functional meetings, vendor coordination and rapid decision cycles that managers say benefit from face-to-face interaction. At the same time, the return-to-office requirement affects commutes, child-care arrangements and personal routines for staff who had adjusted to more flexible remote schedules over the last several years.

This policy comes amid broader adjustments to Target’s hybrid-work posture and its Twin Cities office footprint. The company’s recent workplace shifts have set a higher baseline for in-person attendance at some headquarters functions while maintaining flexibility for others. By delegating scheduling authority to team leaders, Target is signaling that the new expectations will look different across groups depending on operational needs.

Employees can expect managers to communicate team-specific schedules and clarification on which roles must be present on particular days. That variability means some workers will see a hard three-day requirement, while others may have more tailored hybrid arrangements based on role responsibilities. For teams in merchandising, policy changes may accelerate in-person planning cycles but also require practical adjustments from staff juggling commute times and personal commitments.

Because this affects several thousand Twin Cities team members, rollout and enforcement could influence recruiting and retention in a market where flexibility remains a top factor for many job seekers. It also offers a test case for how Target balances the productivity benefits of in-person work against employees’ expectations for flexibility.

For now, merchandising teams and their leaders are moving toward a more structured on-site rhythm, and employees should watch for team-level schedules and further guidance from their managers. The coming weeks will show whether the increased office presence produces the faster collaboration Target seeks and how workers adapt to the renewed cadence of in-person work.