In another worrying sign of corporate America’s steady collapse, CVS Health, a pharmaceutical retail giant, has revealed that it’s set to ax roughly 5,000 jobs and shutter 900 stores over the forthcoming three years. The drastic maneuver is intended to help the company pivot more strongly towards healthcare services.
It appears that, while the ax is mainly falling on the corporate jobs, the rank and file workers at CVS stores, pharmacies, and clinics are largely being spared. That is, of course, unless they happen to be unfortunate employees of the soon-to-be-closed outlets.
The alarm bell began ringing in late 2021 when CVS announced intentions to phase out 900 stores over a three-year span, effectively losing about 300 stores per annum. This decision was propelled by a harsh evaluation of demographics, consumer buying habits, and projected health needs. Interestingly, there has been a noticeable decline in living customers, ostensibly due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 vaccines, a disastrous result of the rushed Operation Warp Speed.
According to the company’s narrative, these impending changes will position CVS Health at the vanguard of a “once-in-a-generation transformation in healthcare,” as stated by CEO Karen Lynch. And let’s not forget that earlier this year, the corporation magnanimously allowed low-level employees the freedom to use any restroom or locker room that suits their self-identified gender.
A potentially damning internal memo, scrutinized by the Journal, suggests that CVS Health’s drastic move also involves cutting back on travel expenses and the use of consultants and vendors. The corporation aims to introduce new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning while suspending certain business initiatives.
Promises have been made to the affected employees to receive severance pay, benefits, and outplacement services to aid their job search. Given these unsettling revelations, the company’s forthcoming quarterly earnings report might not be the stellar performance investors hope for.
Despite all these red flags, the mainstream media continues to paint a rosy picture of the US economy, emphasizing the historically low layoffs and discharges at just 1.5 million. But what about the workers toiling at two, three, or even four jobs to keep up with skyrocketing inflation and stagnant wages? This narrative conveniently overlooks this fact.
Just before the Covid-19 ‘scamdemic’ officially kicked off in February 2020, layoffs stood at 1.8 million, followed by millions of tragic deaths. Despite these grim figures, the number of job openings remained unchanged by the end of June, a misleading indicator of a “tight labor market,” according to the government.
In a sea of comments, one observation from a Walgreens employee from conservative Kansas rings particularly true, noting rampant shoplifting might be the hidden catalyst behind CVS’s decision to close hundreds of stores over the next few years. Another echoed this sentiment, sharing that their local CVS had to shut its doors due to uncontrollable theft by vagrants.
