Target to shut 133 Canada stores to stem massive losses

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target is giving up on Canada.

More than 17,600 employees will eventually lose their jobs when the U.S. discount retailer closes its 133 Canadian stores after only about two years to cut losses that went as high as a billion dollars a year.

The company didn't see how to stop the losses before at least 2021, Target Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said today. Cornell said on Target's corporate blog that its Canadian arm was losing money every day.

The closing is Cornell's first major move since becoming CEO. His predecessor, Gregg Steinhafel, was pushed out last May after a string of problems, from a massive data breach to woes in the U.S. to Canada.

Cornell said the company will instead focus reigniting Target's 1,800-store U.S. business, which has struggled with sluggish sales since the recession.