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i'm assuming it's not because they're lazy/not willing to put the work in. do they not get enough assignments from higher-ups? is business slow? or is it actually that some people just do not put in the work?

(1) Not all firms have billable targets.

(2) I'm not aware of a widespread problem of people 'missing' them even where they exist.

(3) Firm work/projects are rarely discrete and can largely be out of your control. You can't start a week and decide to only bill 30 hours - you do what you're asked, by when you're asked to have it done. Theoretically the more over-eager you are the more work you'll get, but everyone has busy and slow times and you can't ever exercise perfect control over your schedule.

Generally it's either

1) Not enough work to go around. This is what people mean when they say "stealth" layoff: the person is ostensibly being let go for underperformance, but really it's about the firm not having enough business.

or

2) People don't like and/or trust you, so no one will give you work

but there is also

3) you hate (or at least don't care about) your job, and you want to see how long they'll pay you for minimal work. This is more common than you'd think, because the answer is "pretty long."

also there are targets and "targets".

everyone hits 2000 if that's the target. you'd better aim for 22-23.

If you can't get enough to make your hours, you better start dusting off your resume. Not getting enough work given to you is the kiss of death.