Target is no longer the largest employer in downtown Minneapolis

For years, Target Corp. was the biggest employer in downtown Minneapolis. Not anymore.

Hennepin Healthcare edged out the retailer for the No. 1 spot after adding a couple hundred workers last year, according to an annual list of downtown’s top-15 employers the Minneapolis Downtown Council released this week.

With about 7,100 workers, Target’s headquarters along Nicollet Mall had the same number of employees in 2023 as in 2022. But it has shrunk its workforce in the city’s core by more than 40% in the past decade, partly through layoffs.

In 2014, it had about 12,500 employees downtown. It also has a corporate campus in Brooklyn Park where some workers were reassigned after Target downsized its downtown footprint by a third and exited its City Center offices in 2021 as the company shifted to hybrid work.

“They’re looked at as a corporate leader here,” said Adam Duininck, the downtown council’s president. “Whether they’re first or second [on the list], they’re always going to be viewed in that way. The decisions they make and the tone they set sets a big example for other employers downtown.”

In a statement, Target spokesman Brian Harper-Tibaldo said the retailer is honored to be recognized again as one of downtown’s largest employers and believes the city is a great place to live, work and shop.

“Target has a long history as a top employer in the Twin Cities, and Minneapolis has been our home base for more than six decades,” he said. “Thousands of our team members spend time in our Nicollet Mall offices each week.”

Hennepin Healthcare, which runs Hennepin County Medical Center, surpassed Target’s downtown workforce with 7,200 employees.

Wendy Stulac-Motzel, an executive vice president, said the health care system is proud to be downtown’s biggest employer and is a big supporter. She said Hennepin Healthcare has hired more direct care workers such as nurses and health care assistants over the past year as demand for its services has increased.

Most of the downtown roles are in-person positions, she said. Some of the finance, technology and other positions are hybrid roles.

Hennepin County stayed in the No. 3 spot in the top employers list with 5,650 employees, up a little more than a hundred workers from the prior year.

It was followed by Wells Fargo, Ameriprise Financial and U.S. Bancorp, which were in the same order as in 2022.

A couple of companies in the top-15 list had a slightly lower headcount than the year before including U.S. Bancorp and RBC Wealth Management. But most companies reported a higher number of workers, including Xcel Energy, which added more than 600 workers downtown as well as Thrivent and Deloitte, which each grew by more than 200 employees.

“I’m really excited that 10 out of the top 15 employers added employees,” Duininck said. “Just to see the growth amongst all the employers I think is a really positive sign about the strength of downtown employers.”

The growth seems to be both from companies hiring more workers as well as relocating others downtown, he said.

In total, the top 15 employers reported having about 1,500 more workers than the previous year.

Overall, the number of people working downtown held steady at about 217,000, roughly what it was in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the council

“Steady growth,” Duininck said. “It’s not off the charts, but it’s consistent, which is positive.”

The Downtown Council compiles the list by reaching out to the largest employers in December for a year-end employee count.

It doesn’t reflect, though, the number of workers actually working downtown every day of the week as many companies have shifted to hybrid schedules.

About 65% of downtown workers come to the office at least once a week, according to the council. That percentage has risen from 62% a year ago and from 38% in January 2022.

Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp ask employees to come to the office three days a week. Both companies are also planning to relocate hundreds of workers downtown from other offices around the Twin Cities as they consolidate office space.

Target doesn’t set a specific number of days it expects staff to be in the office. It says about 35% of its Twin Cities-based teams come to its headquarters at least once a week.

City boosters have been trying to encourage workers to come to the office more often to help keep downtown vibrant and support the many restaurants and shops that depend on them.

At the Downtown Council’s annual meeting Wednesday, Mayor Jacob Frey raised some eyebrows when he said people who can come to the office but instead decide to work from home are “losers”. He later clarified, in case it wasn’t obvious, that it was a joke.