A leaked Target email urges store managers to carry on business as usual while coronavirus fears create a 'scary, stressful' time for employees
- Target sent an email to store leaders across the US on Tuesday morning instructing them not to change anything about how stores function, despite mounting fears resulting from the spread of the coronavirus.
- "At this point, we're asking that teams continue to operate business-as-usual," the email reads. "Know that we have teams in place managing any potential impact to our business."
- Business Insider spoke to seven current Target employees across stores in New York, North Carolina, California, Washington, Minnesota, and Virginia, all but one of whom said they had not received any information from management regarding the coronavirus issue.
- "It's honestly a scary, stressful time right now," said a Target employee in Seattle, Washington, which is currently weathering a coronavirus outbreak.
- "At Target, we've been prioritizing our team, starting by ensuring that all of our China-based team members have been able to work from home," Target CEO Brian Cornell said during Target's 2020 financial community meeting on Tuesday. "More broadly, we spent considerable time focused on the best way to support our team members all around the world to make sure they stay healthy and safe."
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As retailers across the globe warn about impact from the coronavirus outbreak, Target is telling its managers to carry on "business-as-usual" in stores.
The company confirmed that an internal email sent out to team leaders across the US on Tuesday morning instructed them not to change anything about stores' functioning or communicate anything differently to employees, despite mounting fears about the coronavirus' spread.
The email, which was viewed by Business Insider, outlined best practices for healthy hygiene habits and acknowledged dwindling inventory in certain categories like cleaning and grocery.
"At this point, we're asking that teams continue to operate business-as-usual," the email reads. "Know that we have teams in place managing any potential impact to our business. If there are any changes to business practices, we will communicate as needed to impacted teams."
Employees feel like they are in the dark
The directive not to communicate plans to deal with the virus has made some employees feel like they aren't being equipped to fully handle it.
"We actually haven't had ANY kind of communication from management about ANYTHING related to this issue," a current Target employee, who is not in a managerial role, in a Seattle-area store told Business Insider in an email. "Everyone is just focused on selling and stocking."
This employee is one of seven current Target employees across stores in New York, North Carolina, California, Washington, Minnesota, and Virginia, who spoke to Business Insider about conditions in Target stores amid the coronavirus outbreak. All but one of these store employees, most of whom were granted either full or partial anonymity in order to speak frankly about the situation, but whose identities were confirmed by Business Insider, said they had not heard any information from management regarding protocol or contingency plans related to the coronavirus issue.
The novel coronavirus is affecting many major retailers across the globe. With more than 1,800 stores in the US, Target has become a major destination for worried shoppers to stock up on essentials in the event of an epidemic.
Six Target employees mentioned that hand sanitizer was either fully or almost sold out at their stores. Other staples like toilet paper, face masks, and cold medicine were also reported to be selling out fast.
An employee in a San Diego Target store said that working during the outbreak has been hectic.
"I've had a guest come in with a giant bottle of Lysol he brought from home and he would spray everything before touching it," the employee said. "I do feel like it's a hazard working here, because I always see kids running around sneezing on everything without covering their mouths."
During Target's 2020 financial community meeting and fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 earnings call on Tuesday, CFO Michael Fiddelke said that the company has not seen a large impact on the business from the coronavirus, adding that any adjustments made for Target's future outlook have been slight.
In response to Business Insider's request for comment, Target referred to CEO Brian Cornell's comments from the earnings call.
"Like all of you, we're monitoring this situation hour by hour as conditions evolve," Cornell said in the call. "At Target, we've been prioritizing our team, starting by ensuring that all of our China-based team members have been able to work from home. More broadly, we spent considerable time focused on the best way to support our team members all around the world to make sure they stay healthy and safe."
Paid sick leave is a luxury
Additionally, some Target employees are not offered paid sick leave. Adam Ryan, the liaison for the employee activist group Target Workers Unite and a current employee at a store in Christiansburg, Virginia, said that he feels too worried to take an unpaid sick day if it would have to come to that.
"Even missing one day has a huge impact," Ryan said, regarding how he does not get paid time off or paid sick time.
Patrick, a four-year employee of a North Carolina Target store who asked that Business Insider not include his last name, said his store also does not offer paid sick leave, though he said his workplace is not at the point of panic.
For the Seattle-area employee, being located in a coronavirus outbreak zone is causing him to become nervous about going to work.
"It's scary being around so many people, especially people with small children, who quite often come in coughing and sneezing, and they touch everything," he said. "And when there's an illness in the store it usually goes through the entire staff."
He said that panicked customers searching for items that are running out of stock have not helped the atmosphere in the store.
"It's honestly a scary, stressful time right now," he said.
Are you a retail employee working during the coronavirus outbreak? Email retail@businessinsider.com