Walmart is asking some of its 16,000 pharmacists across the U.S. to voluntarily take pay cuts by reducing their working hours in a bid to lower costs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The cuts, which haven't been previously reported and are aimed at pharmacists in higher wage brackets, highlight the new pressures at Walmart pharmacies, where shoppers are lining up to buy weight-loss drugs that drag on profits, despite their high price.
Walmart also has agreed to pay $3.1 billion as its share of an opioid-related legal settlement, which is adding to its legal costs this year.
The retailer's shares were up nearly 1% in afternoon trading on Tuesday. The company's shares have risen 12% this year, far outperforming the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average's 4.26% increase over the same period, as it becomes the retailer of choice for bargain-minded shoppers navigating steep inflation.
At a meeting in May, senior Walmart field leadership asked 20 market leaders - directors of 10 to 15 stores in a given area - to start asking pharmacists to voluntarily reduce their base salary hours, the source told Reuters.
For example, a pharmacist could go from an 80-hour, two-week pay period to one lasting 64 or 72 hours, said the source, who attended the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The market leaders who attended the meeting represented Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, though the move was presented as a nationwide one, the person said.
Leaders were asked to start hiring pharmacists at lower base salaries, the source said, adding that the moves were being led by Davey Lavergne, Walmart's vice president of Health and Wellness.
On average, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail chain pays its pharmacists more than $140,000 a year, excluding bonuses and incentives, according to Walmart.
Walmart confirmed to Reuters that it was reducing the amount of hours it was offering some pharmacists, citing a dropoff in demand for drugs during the summer and requests from pharmacists for a better work-life balance.
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