Former Walgreens CEO suing the company for over $200M

Walgreens former CEO Greg Wasson retired with some unfinished business, which now has him suing his former employer, according to reporting from Bloomberg. 

Wasson served as the chief of Walgreens Boots Alliance from 2009 to 2014, and on his way out, he led efforts on a deal with retail media company Cooler Screens to set up 2,500 stores with digital refrigerated section displays.

Current CEO Roz Brewer allegedly killed the plan for those screens, and now it is costing Wasson’s new company over $200 million, according to Bloomberg. Wasson is now suing Walgreens for the same amount.

Bloomberg said Brewer was never behind the move to install the digital doors, comparing them to something out of a Las Vegas casino. Wasson’s lawyers are now saying Walgreens allegedly came up with a list of excuses for the high-tech doors, including concerns around safety. 

Cooler Screens set up a pilot with Walgreens in 2018 and spent $45 million fabricating and installing the doors for 700 stores, and more than $88 million on doors yet to be installed. Another $100 million has been used for third-party vendors.

Walgreens has had to make some difficult personnel decisions over the last week, and shortly after news broke that the retailer was cutting 10% of corporate jobs, its chief communications officer announced his resignation.

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Walgreens said the move would allow the company to streamline operations and focus on consumer-facing healthcare businesses. A total of 504 jobs will be eliminated when all is said and done.