Target employees definitely have an overall track record of having a good sense of humor, even while enduring rather harrowing circumstance like Black Friday, or worse, like when their particular Target is closing forever. In January, the retail giant made an announcement: Target would close all Canadian stores. After only two years in the country, that meant 133 stores would close, leaving a hefty number of employees jobless. I imagine if I were a Canadian Target employee right now, I'd be pretty pissed and downright bitter. OK, that's a little extreme, but I would be decidedly bummed because losing a job is never fun. However, Canadians aren't stereotyped as pleasant, reasonable humans for no reason, and they seem to be handling the stores' impending closure pretty well. Or really well, in some cases. One Target's employees covered Semisonic's "Closing Time" as the ultimate mournful ode to their lost jobs.
The video captures a trio of Target employees wearing their trademark red uniforms one last time, loaded up on a dolly being rolled by two more through their soon-to-be former workplace. Aisles are cleaned out, a pretty foreign site when most of us are used to seeing the cheerful vermillion shelves stocked to the gills with reasonably-priced necessities. One dude has an acoustic guitar; another has a makeshift washboard for percussion; a third handles singing duties. It's a little heartbreaking, made more so by its unwavering single-take approach.
This is some pretty dark humor, y'all. Stark linoleum laid specifically bare as a runway for these good-natured employees. Besides their positive outlook, these guys are actually, well, kinda musically talented. Add to that the fact they apparently never rehearsed, and I seriously doubt they'll be out of work very long. See what I mean here:
Target gave their Canadian stores only two years to make things work. They came big: In early 2013, Target opened 124 stores simultaneously across the country. There have been countless theories as to why Target Canada didn't work. All that aside, however, it seems most important to highlight 176,000 Canadians lost their jobs with this massive shuttering. That is astounding. Apparently, Target Canada isn't a stand-out example of American businesses bombing up north. Other examples of U.S. companies failing to flourish in Canadian territories include Best Buy, Sears, and Big Lots.
Fingers crossed the enormous lay-off doesn't leave too many of our Canadian friends stranded without jobs for long. And those dudes above covering Semisonic? If nothing else, they have a bright future as a successful bar band.
Images: Caged Productions/YouTube (2)
