Walgrosen is the first of the largest U.S. retail chains to cut thousands of jobs at stores in Michigan, leaving about 1,800 jobs in its home state.
The retailer announced Monday that it will close the doors of 1,400 stores in Detroit, Lansing, Waukesha, St. Clair and Wayne counties, which include Detroit, at the end of September.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said that the company will also reduce the number of workers at some of its retail locations in the state.
Walgreen said it expects the closures to save the company about $2 billion in 2017.
The company announced its first-quarter loss of $1.25 billion, which was down from $2.06 billion a year ago.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has more than 500 stores in North America, said it would lay off about 10,000 employees in 2018.
Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer Paul W. Schoenecker said that he is confident the company can survive the economic downturn in the United States and in the world.
WalMart said in a statement that it is working with the state of Michigan to determine the future of the stores.
“We are committed to providing quality and value to our customers, employees and communities, and we will continue to be vigilant to keeping our associates, employees, and communities safe and well-treated,” Schoearcker said.
In a separate announcement Monday, Walgroc announced that it would cut 1.3 million jobs in the U.K. The largest U,S.
pharmacy chain will lay off 1,100 employees in the London, Greater Manchester and Sheffield areas, where it operates some 1,600 pharmacies.
The closure of these stores is expected to be effective by the end to the end September.
Walgreen’s CEO, Richard Walton, said in the statement that he and his team are working closely with the government and local governments to ensure that employees are provided the best opportunity to find and keep jobs.
He said the company is committed to working with local government to create a strategic plan for local economic growth and job creation.
“Our employees, our customers and our communities are counting on us to continue to serve them,” Walton said.
