Staffing Shortage: CVS and Walmart Begin Cutting Pharmacy Hours

The Wall Street Journal reported that beginning in March, CVS and Walmart will either cut or shift the hours that their pharmacies operate in response to staffing shortages and lack of consumer demand post COVID-19 pandemic. 

The big box store Walmart which has pharmacies in nearly all of its 4,600 US locations, will begin closing them two hours earlier, at 7 pm.

CVS, who has nearly 9,700 pharmacies in America will cut hours at about 6,000 of their locations.

In a statement to CNN, Walmart said that it, “…has a strong and incredible pharmacy team, and we are making this change to not only enhance their work-life balance but also to maintain the best level of service for our customers.

By positioning our teams in the hours where our customers say they want to visit our pharmacy, we are better able to deliver excellent customer service.”

Also speaking to CNN, CVS stated that, “pharmacy teams are available to serve patients when they’re most needed,” and the changes are part of its “regular course of business.”