Walgreens is laying off 469 employees in Illinois, just months after being bought by a private equity firm.

The employees work at the company’s offices in Deerfield, at the Old Post Office downtown and in Danville, according to a letter the company sent to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Activity.

Walgreens said in the letter, which was sent earlier this month, that it would give affected employees 60 days notice of their termination, starting Feb. 10 and in the days following.

“… Walgreens is reorganizing several areas of the business to best position the Company for growth and deliver results where they matter most: in our stores and with our customers and patients,” wrote Kimberly Metrick, a Walgreens vice president in the letter. 

The letter said that all affected employees would remain employed and receive their full compensation and benefits for 60 days after being notified of their terminations or until they resigned. 

“We’re focused on becoming America’s best retail pharmacy, beginning with improving the in‑store experience for our customers and patients,” a Walgreens spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “To do this, we’ve made the difficult decision to simplify our organization in both the support center and with our field leadership to speed decision making and improve the service that millions of customers rely on every day.”

The layoffs follow private equity firm Sycamore Partners’ acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance in August for about $10 billion – a deal that took Walgreens private. 

As part of that transition, Sycamore said that Walgreens, The Boots Group, Shields Health Solutions, CareCentrix and VillageMD would operate as separate, standalone companies moving forward. A new CEO was appointed to lead Walgreens. Shortly after the sale, Walgreens said it planned to exit its space at Chicago’s Old Post Office, with its headquarters remaining in Deerfield.

The deal came after years of challenges for the retail pharmacy giant, which has faced issues related to medication reimbursements and competition from online retailers. Walgreens also struggled after pursuing an ill-fated attempt to become more of a health care destination by investing billions of dollars into primary care provider VillageMD.

Some industry-watchers noted, at the time of the deal, that the acquisition by a private equity firm would give the company space and time for a turnaround, while others worried that it would lead to layoffs and more store closures. 

Bloomberg first reported news of the layoffs Thursday.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/19/walgreens-layoffs-private-equity/