Are early cuts at Walgreens signaling more to come?
January 27, 2026
After holiday pay cuts, new data shows Walgreens is smaller under private equity
Chicago, IL — Just months after private equity firm Sycamore Partners acquired Walgreens, the company is already cutting jobs and shuttering stores. According to Walgreens’ own corporate website, the retailer now operates approximately 8,000 locations and employs 211,000 workers, down from 8,500 stores and 220,000 employees reported in August 2025, when the buyout closed.
Walgreens under Sycamore, by the numbers:
Before the buyout (August 2025): ~8,500 stores; ~220,000 employees
Current: ~8,000 locations; ~211,000 employees
Change: 500 fewer stores (-5.9%) and 9,000 fewer workers (-4.1%)
These reductions follow some of the first changes under Sycamore’s ownership, including the elimination of paid holidays for hourly workers and layoffs within Walgreens’ corporate operations. Together, this data and recent policy changes raise new questions about how far cost-cutting at the pharmacy giant may go.
For millions of Americans, particularly in rural, low-income, and underserved communities, Walgreens stores are often a primary point of access to basic healthcare services. When Walgreens reduces staff and closes locations, workers lose jobs, patients lose access, and local economies take a hit.
“When holiday pay cuts were announced, we said they could be a warning sign of things to come,” said Jim Baker, executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP). “Now the company’s own numbers show that Walgreens already has fewer workers and fewer stores since Sycamore Partners took over. The question is no longer whether cuts would begin, but whether more are coming.”
Sycamore Partners has a documented history of cost-cutting and bankruptcies after it acquires companies. At Staples, another Sycamore portfolio company, the firm closed roughly one-third of U.S. stores while adding debt in order to extract a $1 billion dividend for itself. Walgreens is now led by the same executive who oversaw those closures.
“With Sycamore’s track record, it’s natural for Walgreens workers and communities to ask what these early cuts foreshadow,” Baker said. “Are these cuts being made to strengthen Walgreens for the long term, or to free up cash for private equity payouts at the expense of employees and consumers?”
Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy operators in the country and a core part of healthcare access in many communities. As Walgreens’ new private equity owner Sycamore Partners closes stores and lays off workers, the stakes extend beyond corporate balance sheets to job security, community access to care, and the long-term stability of a cornerstone healthcare provider.
