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National pharmacy chain lays off nearly 3,000 employees

National pharmacy chain lays off nearly 3,000 employees

WOONSOCKET, Rhode Island (AP) — CVS Health said Tuesday that it plans to lay off 2,900 employees, a move that comes about a year after the pharmacy chain laid off 5,000 employees.

Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications, tells USA Today that the latest wave of layoffs will be “mostly in corporate functions.” Quartz reports that the layoffs are part of the company's efforts to cut costs by $2 billion.

“Our industry faces ongoing disruption, regulatory pressures and changing consumer needs and expectations,” DeAngelis tells CNN. The recent layoffs represent less than 1% of the company's total workforce, CNN reports.

DeAngelis told USA Today that laid-off employees will receive severance and benefits. “Decisions about which positions to eliminate were extremely difficult,” DeAngelis said.

An analyst tells CNN that drugstore chains in the U.S. are struggling “due to declining prescription drug reimbursement rates.” According to CNN, competition from Amazon and chains like Target, Walmart, Costco and Dollar Stores have hurt drugstores' non-pharmaceutical sales.

CVS reportedly has nearly 350 locations in Ohio, including dozens in Northeast Ohio. The company has nearly 9,200 locations across the United States. According to CNN, CVS has closed about 900 stores since 2022.

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