Exclusive-Walmart cuts pharmacist pay, hours while workload piles up
By Siddharth Cavale
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is asking some of its 16,000 pharmacists across the U.S. to voluntarily take pay cuts and reduce their working hours in a bid to reduce 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 top-selling weight-loss drugs that are high priced but a drag on profits.
Walmart also agreed in late 2022 to pay $3.1 billion as its share of an opioid-related legal settlement, which is adding to its legal costs this year.
At a meeting in May, senior Walmart field leadership asked 20 market leaders — directors of 10 to 15 stores in an area — to start asking pharmacists to voluntarily reduce their base salary hours, the source, who attended the meeting, told Reuters. For example, a pharmacist could go from an 80-hour, two-week pay period to one lasting 64 or 72 hours, the source said.
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 hours to reduce the pool of pharmacists getting higher salaries, the person 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
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