I doubt any HQ employee makes TM wages. ETL or Sr TL wages maybe.
The difference is the short supply of workers with the specialized skills and experience for what are arguably very critical roles that impact all of the stores.
Haven't worked at Target HQ, but I have for other retailers. Generally speaking, entry level professionals in an exempt role that requires a college degree or equivalent work experience are compensated similarly to an STL.
Young experienced professionals with around five years of progressive experience, a few professional certifications and affiliations, and an MBA or other advanced masters-level degree is typically compensated similarly to an ETL.
Keep in mind that there are far fewer potential candidates that would qualified for these types of job postings, as compared to the seemingly endless stream of applicants just waiting for any opening. The cost of losing an experienced professional and having to recruit, hire, onboard, and train a replacement is around 150% of the position's salary, easily up in the low six-figures per turn. There is some cost incurred screening, interviewing, and training store applicants, but there are far more generally-qualified candidates than there are store openings.
And you also have to factor in the huge cost of attaining the credentials needed to land those roles at HQ. Not just the 4-6 year head start that those who don't go to college have in starting and advancing their careers, but also the associated income that college graduates weren't earning while in school. Oh, plus the actual cost of the checks you write for the privilege....
I'm sure a vast majority of those being laid off had no way to meaningfully impact the outcome, and are probably looking at 6-12 months out of work and only 3 months of unemployment. 60 days severance is actually a pretty stingy offer, and a lot of them and their families will have a really tough year ahead.
Of course they could what I did and get an hourly job making 1/6 the income, but that still leaves your family trying to get by without 83% of the money that pays the bills and puts food on the table. If you think that is a golden parachute, you're crazy. It's more like a single tissue under you to "soften" the blow.