(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Target announced Thursday that it would soon close all of its stores in Canada just two years after the Minnesota-based company opened shop across the border.

Citing unexpectedly high costs, the department store said it would shutter 133 locations and lay off about 17,600 people. In a statement, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company saw no way to make the Canadian venture profitable until at least 2021.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.