09 April 2015 (15:07 UTC-07 Tango 01)/20 Farvardin 1394/19 Jumada t-Tania 1436/21 Geng Chen 4713
“These American markets are ready for more consolidation…..We will be at the forefront of consolidation…..we should every year review all the stores and if every year we have to close ten stores…do it.”-Stefano Pessina, acting CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
Administrators of the Illinois based legal drugs pusher, commonly known as Walgreens, announced they will shutdown 2-hundred U.S. stores between now and the end of 2017, in order to cut $1.5-billion USD from their budget. Walgreens shutdown 76 stores in 2014.
This comes after Walgreens spent $16-billion to merge with United Kingdom based Alliance Boots, it’s now officially called Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Company administrators have not yet picked which stores will close, but it’s part of their three year plan to cut $1.5-billion, which shows you they don’t expect any real economic recovery anytime soon. Ironically, Alex Gourlay (executive vice president of the new Walgreens Boots Alliance) says the plan to shutdown 2-hundred U.S. stores is really about opening 2-hundred new stores. So how does that save them money?
Of course, investors loved the news of store shutdowns and sent Walgreens’ stock prices up.
What happened to Walgreens refusing to abandon the United States?
Walgreens kills 175 Duane Reade jobs!
In Alabama, Walgreens Call Center laid off “less than ten” employees.
In Pennsylvania, Walgreens shutdown their distribution center, 4-hundred jobs lost!
In Ohio, 121 people lost their jobs at the Walgreens call center!