Report: Target in new push away from tech outsourcing

Don’t assume that the layoff of 275 IT employees in August 2015 by Target Corp. means the retailer is reducing its focus on in-house technology operations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the layoffs actually set the stage for a big push away from IT outsourcing and toward hiring 1,000 new global technology workers.



The new IT employees will have modern technology skills like agile development and focus on open-source development of mobile and online tools. Although Target has traditionally outsourced close to half its IT workforce, the retailer wants to bring technology development in-house to better take advantage of proprietary knowledge and applications.



Target seeks to hire about 500 IT workers at its Minneapolis headquarters and 500 at its technology facility in Bangalore, India.



In other recent news that demonstrates Target’s commitment to taking a firmer grip on development of next-generation solutions, the retailer said it will collaborate with Boulder, Colorado-based startup accelerator Techstars to create a new retail accelerator program that will launch next year in Minneapolis.