Walgreens lays out plan to shutter 1,200 drugstores across the US

The drugstore chain has not yet announced which stores will be closing.

Naomi Yané

Oct 15, 2024, 11:35 AM

Updated 28 days ago

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Walgreens plans to close 1,200 stores across the United States, the company announced this week.
The drugstore chain has not yet announced which stores would be closing, but they are sharing that rent, staffing, and supply needs played a role in the decision to close stores.
Walgreens isn’t the first and likely won’t be the last business to announce closures. CVS is at the tail-end of its three-year plan to close stores. Last year, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and also closed stores. These closures have people in the surrounding communities concerned about possibly losing their local pharmacy.
"We use it for everything. It’s open late, so when other things are closed, you can count on Walgreens,” said one customer.
News 12 reached out to Walgreens about the plans. A spokesperson says increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on their ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs.
In a statement, a representative for the drugstore chain said in part, “It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance.”
Walgreens also added that when closures are necessary, they work with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. For now, customers are already thinking about a plan B.
Walgreens plans to redeploy the majority of their employees from the stores they plan to close.