Walgreens announces more corporate level layoffs

In yet another round of recent Walgreens layoffs, some 267 corporate level workers will lose their jobs, representing 5% of the company’s total corporate workforce, according to a memo obtained by Crain’s Chicago Business.

The move is just one of a series of layoffs from the Deerfield, Ill., retailer. Back in May, Walgreens let go of over 500 high-ranking employees. Months later, the company announced it was closing an ecommerce center in Illinois, eliminating another 400 roles. 

This latest round of layoffs affects corporate employees at the retailer’s headquarters in Deerfield, Ill. The memo, from new Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth, specifies that no one at the store, micro-fulfillment center, or call center level will be impacted by the layoffs. The memo did not specify a last day for workers.

“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions about budgets and investments, including stopping projects, dramatically reducing our spending, and going line by line in our budgets to unlock all potential savings,” Wentworth said in the memo. “However, despite those efforts and many of yours, our costs are not aligned with the performance of the business.”

“As we continue to streamline our operations and focus on our critical priorities to best serve our patients and customers we are making the difficult decision to eliminate 267 roles which account for 5% of our corporate workforce,” Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an emailed statement to Supermarket News. “None of these roles are based at our stores. We are grateful for the many contributions by the team members who will be leaving our company and we are committed to supporting them as much as possible during this transition.”

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Walgreens has spent months responding to the fallout caused by poor financials. Just last week, the retailer announced it would be eliminating bonuses for corporate staff and reducing bonuses for pharmacy and store managers.

During its Q4 earnings call in October, Walgreens said it planned to cut costs by $1 billion, which would also include lowering capital expenditures by around $600 million.

“We must support our customer-facing activities, scrutinize every penny of spend that does not directly benefit the customer and improve cash management,” interim CEO Ginger Graham said on the earnings call.

Fourth quarter net earnings were down about 17% year-over-year at $575 million and earnings for the year dropped 20% to $3.4 billion.