Walgreens has announced that it is shutting 200 of its stores across the country, reports CNBC. That’s about 3% of the total number of stores it currently has, which is right around 10,000 locations.
The good news is Walgreens says that it expects to retain “the majority” of the employees at those stores by moving them to new locations. Walgreens also says it expects “minimal disruption to customers and patients.” The bad news is that a Walgreens spokesperson has said the company does not plan to release a list of which stores are shutting down or any more details about the store closures. That means we have no idea if the planned closures will affect some areas of the country more than others.
Back in 2015, Walgreens previously closed another 200 stores. The current round of closures is part of the company’s plans to save $1.5 billion in annual expenses by fiscal 2022 in what Walgreens is calling its “transformational cost management program.”
In a statement, Walgreens said, “As previously announced, we are undertaking a transformational cost management program to accelerate the ongoing transformation of our business, enable investments in key areas, and to become a more efficient enterprise.”
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