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Major Drugstores Cutting Hours

Drugstore
A brightly lit CVS illuminates the outside. | Image by CVS Health.

Major drugstores are cutting their pharmacy hours due to an ongoing shortage of pharmacy staff.

Walmart, as well as CVS, recently announced they will be cutting hours of operation at their pharmacies beginning in March.

Walmart told Axios that its pharmacies will cut back two hours on weekdays, closing at 7:00 p.m. instead of 9:00 p.m. Hours on the weekend are expected to remain unchanged. This change is expected to impact about 4,600 stores.

Walmart told USA Today in a statement that it is making this change to give its employees a better work-life balance while providing better customer service.

“This change is a direct result of feedback from our pharmacy associates and listening to our customers,” said Walmart in the statement. “By positioning our teams in the hours where our customers say they want to visit our pharmacy, we are better able to deliver excellent customer service and support our associates as they continue to serve their communities every day,” Walmart continued.

CVS said in a statement that its move to cut hours is part of its normal operation to adjust to hours of high demand, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“By adjusting hours in select stores this spring, we ensure our pharmacy teams are available to serve patients when they’re most needed,” said the company in the statement. The changes in hours will affect about two-thirds of the company’s roughly 9,000 U.S. locations.

Previously, Walgreens announced that it was operating on reduced hours, as The Wall Street Journal reported. These changes in hours come amid a shortage of pharmacists across the nation, affecting significant chain drugstores.

CVS had previously offered a $75,000 sign-on bonus in an attempt to recruit more pharmacists in 2022. Companies offer sign-on bonuses when they are having difficulties with staffing, according to GoodRx Health.

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