CVS is laying off about 5,000 employees in a cost-cutting effort, the pharmacy chain confirmed Tuesday. CVS employs about 300,000 people. The news comes ahead of CVS’s quarterly earnings report on Wednesday.
The Rhode Island-based company said in a statement that it is “evolving to adapt to new consumer health needs and expectations” adding, “we do not expect there to be any impact to our customer-facing colleagues in our stores, pharmacies, clinics, or customer services centers as and communities deserve and depend on. Throughout our company’s history, we’ve continuously adapted to market dynamics to lead the industry. The difficult decision we are making will set the company up for long-term success.” Employees will receive notice of potential layoffs in the next few weeks and the company said affected employees will receive benefits as well as severance pay.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the changes are part of CVS’ effort to focus on health services. In recent years, the chain has added more primary care offerings and expanded its “HealthHub” store layout.
In 2021, CVS announced it was closing 900 stores nationwide, amounting to nearly 10% of its footprint, in response to the changing of “consumer buying patterns.” CVS has since increased its focus on healthcare services in recent months, acquiring Signify Health for $8 billion and Oak Street Health for $10.6 billion earlier this year.
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