The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Defensive
Target (TGT)
General merchandise stores read by description. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-11. Ranked 6 of the 16 Consumer Defensive companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
A retailer whose filing states one total and that store and supply chain hourly team members are the vast majority, so the two patterns follow that statement and the description, with no count behind the split.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 21% now, 24% at the end of 2027, 25% at the end of 2028, 25% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 25% desk work, 19% people work and 56% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 75% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 12% becomes checking a model's work and 13% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
415,000 employees as of 2026-01-31 (stated). The filing does not state a count by country; it describes U.S. hourly team members in stores and supply chain facilities as the vast majority of the team.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, we employed approximately 415,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal team members.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| General Merchandise Retailers | 90% | By (c): the filing states that hourly team members in its stores and supply chain facilities 'comprise the vast majority of our team' but gives no count by location, so the store share is read from that statement and the description of the business as general merchandise stores. |
| Warehousing and Storage | 10% | By (c): the supply chain facilities the filing names beside the stores have no stated headcount, so a tenth of the workforce is read into the warehousing pattern by description. |
What the filing says about the workforce: 415,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal team members; a starting wage range of $15 to $24 an hour for U.S. hourly team members in stores and supply chain facilities, who are the vast majority of the team; pay ranges shown on all U.S. job postings.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also General Merchandise Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Walmart (WMT, 2,100,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Costco (COST, 341,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Dollar General (DG, 194,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Dollar Tree (DLTR, 153,032 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Macy's, Inc. (M, 90,134 employees)22% now, 25% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
13 sentences in the filing name AI. AI appears as a competitive factor and a risk: new competitors as AI lowers barriers to entry, the 'emerging ethical issues' of generative AI, and reputational risk 'if our use of generative or agentic artificial intelligence becomes controversial or is ineffective'; the human capital section does not mention it.
- “For example, we may be unable to match or surpass the advances in technologies and capabilities (including artificial intelligence) that our competitors implement for consumer-facing platforms or for internal operations, which could adversely affect our competitive position.”
- “As technology (including artificial intelligence) in the digital retail market continues to evolve, new competitors may emerge due to lowered barriers of entry, which could negatively impact our ability to compete.”
- “Furthermore, generative artificial intelligence presents emerging ethical issues and could negatively impact our guests and team members.”
- “If our use of generative or agentic artificial intelligence becomes controversial or is ineffective, or if the outputs generated are inaccurate or controversial, our reputation and competitive position could be adversely affected.”
- “Consumers may also use third-party channels, devices, technologies, and capabilities (including artificial intelligence) to initiate shopping searches and place orders, which could make us dependent on the capabilities and search algorithms of those third parties to reach those consumers.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 415,000 | 2026-03-11 | 10-K |
| 2025-02-01 | 440,000 | 2025-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 415,000 | 2024-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 440,000 | 2023-03-08 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 450,000 | 2022-03-09 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 409,000 | 2021-03-10 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 368,000 | 2020-03-11 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 360,000 | 2019-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 345,000 | 2018-03-14 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 323,000 | 2017-03-08 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 341,000 | 2016-03-11 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 347,000 | 2015-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 366,000 | 2014-03-14 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 361,000 | 2013-03-20 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-28 | 365,000 | 2012-03-15 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-29 | 355,000 | 2011-03-11 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 351,000 | 2010-03-12 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 351,000 | 2009-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 366,000 | 2008-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-03 | 352,000 | 2007-03-15 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-28 | 338,000 | 2006-04-10 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-29 | 292,000 | 2005-04-11 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-31 | 328,000 | 2004-04-05 | 10-K |
| 2003-02-01 | 306,000 | 2003-04-14 | 10-K |
| 2002-02-02 | 280,000 | 2002-04-15 | 10-K |
| 2001-02-03 | 254,000 | 2001-04-16 | 10-K |
| 2000-01-29 | not read | 2000-04-10 | 10-K |
| 1999-01-30 | 256,000 | 1999-04-12 | 10-K |
| 1998-01-31 | 256,000 | 1998-04-15 | 10-K |
| 1997-02-01 | 149,000 | 1997-04-16 | 10-K405 |
| 1996-02-03 | 141,000 | 1996-04-18 | 10-K405 |
| 1995-01-28 | 123,000 | 1995-04-18 | 10-K |
| 1994-01-29 | not read | 1994-04-21 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No count by location or by store and supply chain is stated; both pattern shares follow the business description (c).
- The share in the U.S. is not stated as a number.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000027419-26-000016, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Target's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 21% now and 25% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Target's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Target employ?
- 415,000 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states.
- What kinds of work make up Target's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest General Merchandise Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 25% desk work, 19% people work and 56% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Target's annual report say about AI?
- 13 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
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A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.