Nearly 400 workers will be out of a job next month when Walgreens closes a warehouse in Edwardsville.
The facility is one of the company’s e-commerce distribution centers, where orders are packed and shipped to customers’ homes. Walgreens says it may use store locations instead for more of that kind of order fulfillment
"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," Zoe Krey, senior manager of retail communications for Walgreens, told the Edwardsville Intelligencer.
"We are grateful for the many contributions our team members at this facility have made and we are committed to supporting them during this transition."
The director of employment and training for Madison County told the Intelligencer that the state of Illinois intends to pass along details on unemployment benefits and insurance coverage options.
The pharmacy and drugstore chain also plans to close 150 of its stores by 2024 to cut costs and boost efficiency. Walgreens is facing lower earnings and tougher competition in the drugstore market.
The company operates more than 60 retail stores in the St. Louis region, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
