CVS Cuts 5,000 Corporate Jobs in Shift to Healthcare
CVS is reportedly cutting around 5,000 jobs amid its new focus on healthcare, reports PYMNTS. The cuts are primarily centered around corporate-level positions and aren’t expected to involve jobs at the company’s stores, pharmacies or clinics. News of the layoffs comes six months after CVS announced it was acquiring primary care provider Oak Street Health for $10.6 billion. In recent years, the retailer has also acquired home health giant Signify Health, insurer Aetna, and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark.
Total Retail's Take: Entering the healthcare space is a complex and expensive endeavor. CVS is laying off some of its corporate workforce in a cost-cutting measure "to reprioritize [its] investments around care delivery and technology," according to CNBC. The retail pharmacy chain expects the layoffs to help place the company “at the forefront of a once-in-a-generation transformation in health care,” CEO Karen Lynch said in a staff memo. The move signals that CVS isn't done restructuring to better position itself for technology-driven health retail of the future. Competitor Walgreens is taking similar measures, having cut hundreds of jobs so far this year to trim costs while investing in expanding its healthcare offerings.
Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
