Walgreens to cut 1,000 positions
DEERFIELD, Ill. Following through on an aggressive plan to cut its operating costs by $1 billion a year within the next three years, Walgreens revealed today it will reduce its corporate staff and field management by approximately 9% by the end of this fiscal year in August. The work reduction plan will eliminate some 1,000 management jobs through a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs in fiscal 2009.
The cuts will not reach into the ranks of hourly store-level employees, Walgreens said. Nevertheless, the work reductions mark a striking departure from Walgreens’ traditional growth-oriented posture and a grim reflection of a downward-spiraling economy. They also bear out predictions made by company leaders in October, when interim chairman Alan McNally unveiled a massive transformation and cost-reduction effort aimed at bringing Walgreens’ operating costs into line with new economic realities and rejuvenating the company’s brand and customer appeal in a difficult marketplace.
Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson said that wherever possible the workforce cuts would come through voluntary retirement and resignation programs for affected employees. To reduce overhead, including the number of people employed in corporate and support roles, Walgreens said it is enabling eligible employees to voluntarily resign or retire with both severance pay and benefits coverage based on years of service and retirement eligibility. The program is being offered in advance of a supplemental “involuntary” separation program that will begin in February.
“We are committed to reducing our corporate and support staff level fairly and with respect for all of our employees, which is why we’re first offering a voluntary separation program,” he said. “We’ve succeeded for more than a century by changing as the economy, our industry and the marketplace change and have always adjusted to keep our company strong and growing.”
The staff cuts are in line with what McNally dubbed Walgreens’ “Rewiring for Growth” initiative, one of several strategic projects aimed at reducing costs and leveraging the value of the company’s core businesses. The overhaul, first announced at Walgreens’ Analyst Day meeting in October, “will align the company’s cost, culture and capabilities to enhance customer service and satisfaction levels for shoppers, patients and payers,” the company noted.