Boots announces plans to cut 4,000 jobs

Pharmacy chain Boots plans to cut 4,000 jobs and close 48 optician stores in the UK, in the latest major blow to the country’s retail sector from the Covid-19 crisis. 

UK brands ranging from John Lewis to Topshop to Harrods have announced thousands of job cuts in the last two weeks after the pandemic forced customers to shop online.

Many customers remained reluctant to return to the high street even as lockdown restrictions eased. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance, the US-listed owner of the retailer, said today its most significant Covid-19 impact had come in Britain, with footfall down 85% in April and Boots UK recording a third-quarter operating loss. 

Reflecting this and ongoing uncertainty at Boots UK related to the pandemic, the parent booked an impairment charge of $2 billion. 

Walgreens said the Boots UK store closures and job cuts, which include a 20% headcount reduction at its support office, accelerated a restructuring already in train. 

The group said the total adverse impact of Covid-19 on sales in the quarter was $700-$750m.