Walgreens Closing IL Distribution Center, Cutting 400 Jobs: Spokesperson

DEERFIELD, IL — Just weeks after announcing it was closing 150 Walgreens locations in the United States by August 2024, parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance said Wednesday it is shutting down an e-commerce shipping center in Edwardsville. That closure, which will eliminate nearly 400 positions, follows the Deerfield-based company cutting 504 corporate jobs in June.

A WBA spokesperson told Patch the distribution center will close later this summer.

"As we continue to transform our business into a consumer-centric healthcare company, we are focused on aligning our operational structure to best serve our patients and customers, including how we use our network of stores to ship orders to our patients’ and customers’ homes," WBA said in a statement.

Edwardsville, located in Madison County, is part of Southern Illinois and the Metro East region.

Blaming a lower demand for COVID-related services, among other factors, WBA said it was taking some cost-cutting measures following the release of its third-quarter earnings report last month. A WBA spokesperson told Patch the 150 stores targeted for closure have not been announced.

The corporate jobs being eliminated account for 10 percent of the corporate workforce. A spokesperson told Patch that the decision will not close the pharmacy giant's Deerfield headquarters.

"Consumers continue to appreciate the value, convenience, and range of services provided by Walgreens and Boots," Rosalind Brewer, WBA's chief executive officer, said last month. "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."

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

RELATED: Walgreens Closing 150 Stores Nationwide By Summer 2024

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

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said settlements were reached with drug makers Teva and Allergan, along with pharmacies CVS and Walgreens. The companies committed to the deals and will start releasing funds later this summer.

Raoul said national investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid crisis have led to more than $50 billion in settlements with Illinois’ share at more than $1.3 billion.

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