Walgreens Closing 150 Stores Nationwide By Summer 2024: Spokesperson

DEERFIELD, IL — Blaming a lower demand for COVID-related services, among other factors, Walgreens Boots Alliance is taking some cost-cutting measures following the release of its third-quarter earnings report earlier this week. A WBA spokesperson told Patch Wednesday the Deerfield-based company expects to close 150 Walgreens locations in the United States by the end of August 2024.

The stores targeted for closure have not been announced.

The pharmacy giant oversees more than 9,000 Walgreens locations nationwide. WBA will also be closing 300 of its Boots stores in the UK over the next year.

"Consumers continue to appreciate the value, convenience, and range of services provided by Walgreens and Boots," said Rosalind Brewer, WBA's chief executive officer, in a news release. "However, significantly lower demand for COVID-related services, a more cautious and value-driven consumer, and a recently weaker respiratory season created margin pressures in the quarter."

WBA said third quarter sales increased 8.6 percent from the year-ago quarter to $35.4 billion, resulting in an increase of 8.9 percent on a constant currency basis, which the company says "reflects sales growth in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and International segments, and a significant contribution from the U.S. Healthcare segment."

"WBA achieved 8.9 percent constant currency sales growth in the third quarter despite a challenging operating environment," Brewer said.

Earlier this month, Walgreens was named as one of the two pharmacies to be included in a $17.3 billion settlement that was reached and that will pay out $518 million to Illinois over the next 15 years in a bipartisan effort to curb the opioid crisis.

RELATED: Deerfield-Based Walgreens, CVS Part Of $17.3B Opioid Crisis Settlement

Last month, WBA announced it is cutting 504 corporate positions, or 10 percent of the corporate workforce. A spokesperson told Patch that the decision will not close the pharmacy giant's Deerfield headquarters.

WBA, the parent company of Walgreens, said the decision is part of a transformation into a "consumer-centric healthcare company." None of the jobs being eliminated are based at any of the company's stores across the United States and Canada, according to the spokesperson. Positions at microfullment centers and call centers are also not effected. The company's Chicago offices will also remain open following the layoffs.

RELATED: Deerfield Headquarters Of Walgreens To Remain Open Following Job Cuts