Walgreens lays off hundreds of employees, mostly in Chicago

CHICAGO - Walgreens announced Tuesday that it is laying off 256 workers, mostly in Chicago, and eliminating 215 open roles as part of a strategy to streamline its focus on core pharmacy services.

The company's restructuring is expected to affect roles in its corporate support center.

In a statement, a Walgreens spokesperson acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but emphasized that the layoffs are part of broader "turnaround efforts" to adjust to a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

"While we continue to make progress as part of our turnaround efforts, this process will take more time," the spokesperson said. "To further our focus on our core retail pharmacy business, we will be eliminating 256 support center roles. While decisions like these are always difficult, we believe this action is necessary to position us to rapidly respond to the changing external environment so we can best serve the millions of patients and customers who depend on us every day for their healthcare needs."

Walgreens says it is offering outplacement support and severance packages to affected employees to assist with the transition.

This announcement comes after the company announced earlier this month that it will close about 1,200 locations over the next three years.