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Walgreens The company has quietly had its hourly employees stripped of paid vacation time for major holidays including Christmas and Thanksgiving after being bought by a private equity firm, according to reports.
document Received by Bloomberg Full-time US workers who are paid hourly rates will no longer receive automatic holiday pay for six public holidays, causing them to lose hundreds of dollars each year, it showed. Even the cost of living is increasing,
The move will reportedly affect Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, for which full-time employees previously got paid even if they didn’t work any hours that day.
It comes after the struggling pharmacy chain Acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in August for $10 millionIts nearly century-long run as a publicly traded company ended.
Sycamore has since continued Walgreens’ aggressive cost-cutting campaign, alleged firing Laying off approximately 80 corporate employees, including most of its communications team, and closing an office in Downtown Chicago.
he was at the top Walgreens announces closure of nearly 1,200 stores in 2024part of A huge wave of corporate retail layoffs this has helped US monthly hiring rate drops to lowest level since pandemic,
Federal law does not require companies to pay their employees for public holidays they do not work.
The Pharmacy Guild, the labor union for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, condemned the move, saying it would force some workers to choose between paying their bills and having enough to eat.
“I don’t think any health care worker anywhere in this country, no matter what their title, deserves to live like this,” co-founder Shane Jerominski told Bloomberg.
Walgreens and Sycamore Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Founded in 1901 and launched on public stock exchanges in 1927, Walgreens has struggled for years with inflation, rising costs, thin prescription reimbursements and shoplifting as cash-strapped consumers increasingly turned to online shopping in the wake of the pandemic.
By October 024, the company’s share price had fallen 92 percent from its all-time peak in 2015.
Sycamore’s move will add fuel to the ongoing controversy about the economic dominance of private equity firms critics allege Degrading the quality of life for Americans by buying up long-standing businesses and exploiting them for short-term profits.
High-profile firms reportedly run by private equity include Restaurant Chain Red LobsterThe Prolific Craft Retailer Joanand toy giant Toys R Us,