Target announced on Tuesday that it will close nine locations across four states, including three in the San Francisco Bay Area and one in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, citing threats to the safety of its employees and customers from theft and organized retail crime.
Three locations in Portland, Oregon, and two in Seattle will also be closing as of October 21. Target stated that in the markets where the closures are occurring, it will still have a total of 150 stores open. It stated that it would provide affected employees with the chance to transfer to other stores.
The Minneapolis-based retailer claimed that it was difficult to decide to close the outlets.
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” Target said in a statement.
Target claimed to have extensively invested in anti-theft measures such as increasing the number of security personnel, hiring outside guards, putting in equipment to dissuade theft, and locking up items. Additionally, it has given security team members and store managers training on how to protect themselves and defuse potentially dangerous situations.
The company did, however, acknowledge that it still had “fundamental challenges” to run the stores safely and that the performance of the businesses at the locations that will be shut down was unsustainable.