Boots pharmacy chain will cut about 10 per cent of its administrative workforce as part of the U. company’s contribution to a $1.5 billion cost-cutting program initiated by its US owners.
The British division of Walgreens Boots Alliance will eliminate 700 non-store support positions through a combination of firings, assignments to other departments and not replacing people who quit or retire, the pharmacy operator said in a statement Monday.
About 400 of the jobs will be cut at the division’s head office in Nottingham, England. “While we have continued to deliver a solid performance in recent years, we cannot be complacent,” Boots President Simon Roberts said in the statement.
“This plan will make Boots even better for our customers and drive sustainable future growth.”
Walgreens has already frozen pay for senior executives and set about closing 200 US drugstores as part of its $1.5 billion spending-reduction program.
Illinois-based Walgreens, the biggest US pharmacy chain, is under pressure from investors because of a pension-fund lawsuit claiming the retailer overstated the benefits of the $15.3 billion deal that brought it full ownership of European counterpart Alliance Boots last year.
The U. job cuts, equivalent to about 1 per cent of the company’s workforce in the country, won’t preclude it from investing in digital technology and revamping its customer offer, Boots said. The company declined to specify potential costs or savings from the workforce reductions.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
