WBA: WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC. (504 employees laid off from its corporate workforce)

Sector: Healthcare

Industry: Pharmaceutical Retailers

Subindustry: Drug Stores

Walgreens Boots Alliance recently announced the layoff of 504 corporate employees, which represents around 10 percent of its corporate workforce. The layoffs primarily stem from the financial Walgreens is facing due to opioid litigation and other legal matters. Walgreens settled a lawsuit with the city of San Francisco, agreeing to pay $230 million for its sales of opioids, contributing to the city's drug crisis. Walgreens has denied liability regarding allegations of its role in the opioid crisis, despite having paid out $5.4 billion for opioid-related legal claims. Additionally, Walgreens has been expanding its services beyond drugstores by becoming a direct provider of medical care through its partnership with VillageMD. These layoffs are part of Walgreens's efforts to drive sustainable cost savings and support future growth.

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JPM: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (About 500 positions cut)

Sector: Financial Services

Industry: Banks—Diversified

Subindustry: National Commercial Banks

JPMorgan Chase recently laid off approximately 500 employees, primarily in technology and operations groups across its main divisions of retail and commercial banking, asset and wealth management, and corporate and investment bank. The decision to reduce staff is a routine practice for financial firms, including JPMorgan, who periodically trim positions while simultaneously hiring for other roles. Despite the layoffs, the bank currently has around 13,000 open positions available. The recent acquisition of First Republic, in which JPMorgan offered positions to about 85% of the bank's 7,000 workers, indicates JPMorgan’s growth strategy under CEO Jamie Dimon. As of March 31, JPMorgan had 296,877 employees, representing an 8% increase from the previous year. Walgreens has chosen not to comment on the personnel decisions.