CVS Health announced that it will cut 2,900 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan.
The layoffs will mostly affect corporate positions, a CVS spokesperson told Fox Business.
More than 300,000 people work for CVS across its segments, according to its website.
The cuts represent 1% of the company’s workforce.
The job cuts will not affect front-line jobs in CVS stores, pharmacies or distribution centers, the spokesperson said.
“Our industry faces continued disruption, regulatory pressures, and evolving consumer needs and expectations, so it is critical that we remain competitive and operate at peak performance.
“As we previously disclosed, we’ve embarked on a multi-year initiative to deliver $2 billion in cost savings by reducing expenses and investing in technologies to enhance how we work,” the spokesperson told Fox Business.
CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch said in August as she announced the initiative that the savings would be “driven by further streamlining and optimizing our operations and processes, continuing to rationalize our business portfolio, and accelerating the use of artificial intelligence and automation across the enterprise as we consolidate and integrate platforms.”
CVS “prioritized finding cost savings everywhere we could, including closing open job postings” prior to deciding to pursue the layoffs, the spokesperson told Fox Business.
The company generated total revenues of $91.2 billion in the second quarter. Its adjusted earnings per share dropped 17% year over year to $1.83.
CVS also lowered its earnings per share and cash flow guidance for the full year to “reflect continued pressure in the health care benefits segment,” it said at the time.
The company operates more than 9,000 pharmacy stores.
