Target CEO to Step Down After Rolling Back DEI Policies

Target CEO Brian Cornell announced that he will step down after more than a decade of leadership at the retail behemoth, leading some leftists to bizarrely claim that the company’s walkback of certain diversity policies was responsible.

Target has struggled to compete in the crowded retail space since COVID, according to a Wednesday report from CBS News.

Michael Fiddelke, the COO of Target, will therefore take the place of Cornell as CEO.

“Mike was the right candidate to lead our business back to growth,” Cornell told reporters, per CBS News.

🚨BREAKING: Target’s CEO has resigned after 11 years as the company’s sales plummet.

Go woke, go broke. pic.twitter.com/3arzuvnA65

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 20, 2025

“As I arrived at Target, I consistently relied on Michael’s strategic insights and sound judgment when making decisions. Michael has developed a deeper knowledge of our business than anyone I know,” he added.

Fiddelke credited Cornell, who will become executive chair of the Target board, for his work.

“When we’re leading with swagger in our merchandising authority, when we have swagger in our marketing, and we’re setting the trend for retail, those are some of the moments I think that Target has been at its highest in my 20 years,” Fiddelke said.

Beyond the leadership changes, Target also made headlines this year for reversing some of the “woke” policies they had previously implemented, especially with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But some leftists blame that decision for their other financial struggles.

“It cost Target nothing to be inclusive. But it’s costing them tons of dollars, market share and the CEO has lost his job because they decided to reverse course on inclusiveness,” one social media comment said.

“Costco kept DEI initiatives and they are still full, Target folded and sales dropped, now CEO is stepping down,” another added.

“Target backed out of $2B with dei and has lost $12B in market value because of it. Love it when the math maths,” a third claimed.

Even as some progressives made such arguments, conservatives tied the struggles at Target to their endorsements of wokeness over the past few years.

“Target is another brand in the list of most recent casualties to find out what it means to ‘go woke, go broke.’ Their CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down, after the store spent the last two years reversing the damage their viral Target Pride 2023 display caused them,” one user noted.

“Target got HEAVILY involved in pro-LGBTQ and woke culture, going all-in on pride merchandise. They are now retreating from DEI,” another remarked.

Target stock saw a 10 percent dip in its stock price upon announcement of the leadership changes at the company.

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