Walgreens laying off 250 workers, most in Chicago

Walgreens Boots Alliance will lay off 256 workers, corporate roles which are mostly based in Chicago, the company confirmed Wednesday. 

The move is the latest in a series of layoffs in recent years as the Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer continues to grapple with financial struggles.

“While decisions like these are always difficult, we believe this action is necessary to position us to rapidly respond to the changing external environment,” said Walgreens spokeswoman Megan Boyd, who added that the move was made, “to further our focus on our core retail pharmacy business.”

“While we continue to make progress as part of our turnaround efforts, this process will take more time,” she said in a statement to Supermarket News. 

Boyd added that all impacted workers will be offered outplacement support and severance. The retailer is also eliminating 215 open positions, Boyd confirmed.

The news comes amid a tumultuous period for the company. Earlier this month during an earnings call, Walgreens announced plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years—about 14% of its U.S. stores.

During that same earnings call, Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth stressed that the company will focus on stabilizing its retail pharmacy via getting operating costs under control, improving cash flow, and continuing to “address reimbursement models to support dispensing margins.”

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The retailer has also backtracked on a previous plan to add Village Medical clinics to 1,000 of its stores, saying it now plans to sell either all or part of its VillageMD business.

Walgreens has laid off over 1,000 workers over the past several years, with most of those being corporate positions. Last year, the retailer announced that it would implement a $1 billion cost cutting program following a string of poor financial results.

Walgreens net loss to date is a massive $8.6 billion, an increase of 180% compared to the year-ago period, primarily driven by a higher operating loss.