Walgreens Lays Off Employees, Cuts Their Benefits, But Offers Free Healthcare to Unemployed

[...] Walgreens is laying off employees and cutting benefits – but offering free health care to the unempl… [...]

But companies have to do this these days to survive. There are two different things happening here, not an unnecessary layoff combined with a severence. Its survival and helping those who feel the effects of cuts. Maybe I dont understand fully what you are saying but I do agree it wouldnt make sense in 1998 but this is now, wake up.

My point is that Walgreens is doing something for other (non employee) people only because it gets them press. They aren’t using the money they are putting into this program on their own employees because if they did that, it wouldn’t get any press. Nobody covers that a company is keeping its employees all that much.

Walgreen’s isn’t part of Wal-Mart. The latter is the organization offering free basic health services through the clinics that operate in some of their giant stores — not to all the unemployed, but only those on unemployment benefits, which means they’ll have some money to spend while on the premises.

Besides attracting extra business, making this PR gesture is no doubt an effort to quiet the ill-well is rightfully aimed at their appalling labor practices.

Walgreen’s is a much smaller chain not known for labor abuse.

I work for Walgreens. All stores had their hours cut. I used to work 40 hours a week, now I work 10. That means no paid vacations and no insurance. Maybe they should have given us insurance before the unemployed. Even before the cuts, insurance was “employee” paid.

[...] previously mentioned how Walgreens let 1,000 employees go, but announced they were planning to provide free healthcare to any…. Well it turns out of course to be less than promised. Time is reporting that there are many [...]

I work for them and a lot of what these people say are true. You still get insurance as long as you work 32 hours. The pharmacy will give people a form to fill out and for a year you can get your medication for a very low price. As far as handouts I don’t go for that as a lot of them out of work do not want to work at just any job. They want what they had. I didn’t go there looking for what I used to get in the office I worked at. But I went to get a job to help me out. Of coure I admit I do get social security benefits as I am over the age of 62. I am not the type that gives to too many charities.

I have also had my hours cut and benefits were never an option anyway – the pay is far too low for anyone to afford insurance unless they have a working spouse. Management treats the floor employees poorly and it doesn’t help that corporate has cut the hours and positions available. We are now doing more work with less people and time. Any resistance is met with the classic, “you’re lucky to even have a job”. As for some of the comments on it being necessary to cut all these jobs and benefits, I just don’t believe them. Prices are constantly being increased and employees aren’t getting raises. The real problem is that EXAs, store managers, and above aren’t really taking a hit. They’re still getting their overinflated wages and big bonuses. They keep creating useless/underproductive positions instead of putting people on the floor. More store level employees mean less loss, easier workload, higher morale, and most importantly BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. That is what keeps people coming back. Trust me, it’s definitely not the prices (unless we put something on clearance).