May 26 (UPI) — The parent company of pharmacy giant Walgreens is laying off 504 corporate employees, 10% of its corporate workforce.
No layoffs will occur at Walgreens stores, according to CEO Roz Brewer.
Walgreen’s chief executive officer said in a message to employees Friday that the drugstore giant is laying off 504 people, 10% of its corporate staff, over the next few days. File Photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI
In a message to employees on Scribd, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. CEO Rosalind ‘Roz’ Brewer said, “Over the next few days, we will be completing the reduction of 504 roles, which account for 10% of our workforce. None of these roles are at our stores, distribution centers, micro-fulfillment centers or call centers.”
The layoffs will be at Walgreens Chicago corporate offices.
Brewer said the layoffs, while difficult, are necessary to streamline the business.
“We’re doing everything we can to support our impacted team members to explore other opportunities and treat them with the utmost respect and care,” Brewer said.
In December 2022 Walgreens, agreed to pay $5.7 billion over 15 years as partial settlement of opioid lawsuits against the company by several states.
On May 18 Walgreens agreed to pay San Francisco $230 million for its role in the city’s opioid crisis.
Walgreens said in March that financial results for second quarter fiscal 2023 that ended Feb. 28 showed earnings per share down 20.3%.
Operating income was $0.2 billion compared to $1.2 billion in the year ago quarter in part due to “a $306 million pre-tax charge for opioid-related claims and litigation.”
By the end of the last reported quarter, Walgreens had total cash of $1.84 billion and debt of $38.56 billion.