Walgreens to lay off almost 400

Walgreens is making yet another round of layoffs, seemingly determined to stick to a plan the retailer says is necessary for its latest transformation.

Now, Walgreens Boots Alliance will close an ecommerce distribution center in Edwardsville, Ill., which will eliminate almost 400 jobs, reports Crain’s Chicago Business. This comes on the heels of the news that the company will close 150 stores this year. In May, Walgreens additionally said it would eliminate over 500 corporate-level jobs.

It’s all part of a strategy, according to Walgreens, as the company focuses more on patient healthcare. The Northbrook, Ill.-based company released a statement, stating the recent layoffs will “transform [the] business into a consumer-centric healthcare company.” Walgreens also said it was taking another look at how it uses its network of stores to ship orders to patients and the homes of customers.

“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close our e-commerce distribution center in Edwardsville, Ill., later this summer,” Walgreens said in the statement. “We are grateful for the many contributions our team members at this facility have made and we are committed to supporting them during this transition.”

In total, 393 roles at the Edwardsville facility will be eliminated.That center will officially close on Aug. 28.

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Walgreens Boots Alliance is coming off a less-than-stellar Q1 earnings report. Lower-than-expected COVID-19 booster shots and testing, an ongoing troubled economy, and a weaker respiratory season led to the quarterly downfall. Walgreens revised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance from $4.45-$4.65 to $4.00-$4.05. The company’s adjusted operating income is at $3.2 billion — a drop of over 26% on a constant currency basis. 

The healthcare segment, which includes the increased focus on patient care in primary-care provider VillageMD and urgent care provider Summit Health, had a $113 million loss in the third quarter mainly due to the cost of expansion of VillageMD (93 more clinics were added year-over-year) and a decline in visits at Summit Health. A lighter-than-normal respiratory season kept Summit Health from seeing growth.