CVS to lay off 632 people employed out of RI as board mulls breaking up company
by: Eli Sherman
WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — CVS Health has notified Rhode Island regulators it plans to lay off 632 in-person and remote workers employed out of the company’s headquarters starting on Dec. 8, Target 12 has confirmed.
The pharmacy giant outlined the layoffs in a federally mandated layoff notice filed with the R.I. Department of Labor and Training on Monday.
“We are writing to inform you that CVS Health will be conducting a mass layoff at its facility
located at One CVS Drive, Woonsocket, Rhode Island and its surrounding facilities,” CVS officials wrote in the notice.
CVS announced on Sept. 30 it planned to get rid of nearly 2,900 workers nationwide as it looks to cut $2 billion in expenses amid disappointing financial results. The company’s board is also reportedly exploring whether to break up CVS into separate entities.
“There isn’t a straightforward answer for CVS,” The Wall Street Journal’s David Wainer wrote last week. “It could yet find a way to extract value from its disparate businesses while they stay together. But after so many years of struggles, it is clear that something significant needs to happen to give the company a new direction.”
CVS is one of the largest publicly traded companies in the country, and is Rhode Island’s biggest private company by far. The company employed just over 7,000 people statewide as of Oct. 1, with roughly 3,400 of them at its headquarters buildings in Woonsocket and the rest scattered at drugstores and distribution centers, a spokesperson told Target 12.
The newly disclosed layoffs are not all Rhode Island residents, however. Company officials said in the filing that 153 people work at the corporate offices in Woonsocket and 479 are “outstanding/remote employees reporting into the facility.”
The layoff notice includes a breakdown of all the employees — who are not named — by state of residence. At least 70 are listed as living in Rhode Island. More than 70 are listed as living in Massachusetts. The rest are scattered across the country.
“All employees who will be separated as a result of this action have been notified of their specific separation date and that their separation from employment will be permanent,” CVS officials said.
A CVS spokesperson last week said the company is looking to invest in technologies to “enhance efficiency and workflow.”
“Before taking this step, we prioritized finding cost-saving everywhere we could, including closing open job postings,” spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said. “Decisions on which positions to eliminate were extremely difficult and do not diminish the value that impacted colleagues have brought to the company.”
State Rep. Stephen Casey, a Democrat who represents Woonsocket, expressed concern Friday about the job cuts at CVS and said state officials would work to assist laid-off employees. But he expressed confidence that the state “will continue to maintain a strong business climate.”
“We’re fortunate to have such dedicated leadership guiding Rhode Island’s economic strategy,” Casey said in a statement. “Gov. Dan McKee, [Commerce] Secretary Liz Tanner, and the team at Commerce have been key in advancing policies that strengthen our business landscape.”
Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Ted Nesi contributed to this report.