AUGUST 15, 2024 — THOUSANDS TARGETED AS ALL MICHIGAN STORES CLOSE
All of Michigan's 186 Rite Aid stores are closing, a spokesperson for the company confirmed after Rite Aid closed 12 Michigan locations.
JUNE 25, 2024 — MORE MICHIGAN STATE LAYOFFS
The company has announced the closure of its 407,000-square-foot Pontiac Rite Aid Distribution Center, located in Pontiac, Michigan on August 16, 2024. The closure will impact 191 employees, including 99 warehouse employees, 29 forklift operators, and support staff.
The closure of the Michigan State distribution center comes as the company plans to close all or nearly all of its pharmacy locations in Michigan and Ohio.
Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2023 amid increased competition, low reimbursement, and ongoing legal battles over its role in the national opioid epidemic.
MARCH 14, 2019 — Original post…
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid has announced a major restructuring that “will reduce managerial layers and consolidate roles across the organization, resulting in the elimination of approximately 400 full-time positions, or more than 20% of the corporate positions located at the Company's headquarters and across the field organization.” According to the company, “As a result of the restructuring, Rite Aid expects to achieve annual cost savings of approximately $55 million, of which approximately $42 million will be realized within fiscal year 2020. These cost savings will serve to offset an expected reduction in income associated with its diminishing obligations under the Transition Services Agreement with Walgreen Co., which is related to the prior sale of stores.” Of course, this references the effects of a number of failed merger initiatives, which saw a large number of stores to the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
According to Rite Aid Board Member Bruce Bodaken, “It is imperative we take action to reduce the cost of current operations and become a more efficient and profitable company. “The board believes that now is the right time to undertake a leadership transition.” A company spokesperson added, claiming that the changes were for the purposes of “more closely aligning the structure and leadership of the company with the scale of its operations and pointed out that the executive departures “are not at all a result of any wrongdoing.”
There is little or no doubt that this once prosperous large company is in serious trouble, both operationally and in Wall Street. Once the company was “ranked No. 94 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. The stock is now selling at a fractional value under $1 that demands a reverse split, stock exchange de-listing, or a white-knight acquisition. A very uncertain future.
Employees should not take their continued employment for granted given the present circumstances and the need to drastically reduce operational costs.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?